Parallel Realities Ninja Storm
by Rogue Ranger
Summary: Tori's twin brother from a dimension where the Power Rangers are evil struggles to find where he belongs, how to make Dustin happy with or without him, and whose side he's on in an epic trans-dimensional battle between good and evil. M/M and M/F Pairings.
1. Wipeout!

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm**

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**Introduction:** This is my first attempt at fanfiction. I chose PRNS for one simple reason: Dustin; my first and still only major onscreen crush (*drools uncontrollably*). Anyway, this story centers around the episode "The Wild Wipeout", where Tori ends up in a parallel dimension (aka, alternate reality) where the Power Rangers are evil punks and Lothor is a timid but well meaning mayor. What happens when Tori's gay twin brother from that dimension come to this one and throws everything out of whack? Tobi starts out as a punk like his sister and her friends, but, as he learns more about himself and the good Power Rangers, he changes in many different ways. Combines drama, humor, romance, suspense and some action! Contains very little violence but some perverse humor. Please read and review! Even critical feedback is helpful! Oh, and I put up polls from time to time to see what I should do with the story and I always listen to my readers' ideas through polls or reviews.

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 1 (Wipeout!)**

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Behind a waterfall in a parallel dimension...

Tobi Hanson stepped into Ninja Ops and was immediately greeted by the usual cat calls and insults. He looked around at the guys, all in their black ninja attire. He was wearing a gold shirt and light blue shorts, more proof that he wasn't a ninja or a Power Ranger and one more reason he didn't belong. "Where's Tori?" he demanded, trying to sound tougher than he felt.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Blake joked. "I thought you were your sister."

"Shut up!" Tobi complained as the others laughed.

"I think it's like the hair, dude," Cam, the green samurai ranger, suggested, referring to the fact that Tobi let his blonde hair grow out. Instinctively, he reached up to push it away from his face. He didn't think he looked _that_ much like his twin. She did have breasts after all. He didn't even have man boobs. He was a little skinny, but had muscles where it counted.

"Faggot," Shane, the red ranger, mouthed, drawing the desired high five from Hunter, the crimson ranger.

"Argh!" Dustin, the yellow ranger, growled, spinning around in his chair. Just like every other time since back when they were kids growing up, Tobi was again immediately struck by Waldo "Dustin" Brooks. Maybe it was the way he could solve almost any problem or how—No, it was probably just his looks. He was hot! His skin was the color of earth, his hair wild and unkempt and his eyes were nothing less than mesmerizing. They made him crave chocolate too for some reason. "I can't seem to finish the preset parameters for the new weapon I'm working on," Dustin complained, making his adorable pouting face. Good looks and brains. Now, if only he wasn't a jerk sometimes, Tobi thought.

"That's a bummer, man," Cam sympathized. "We could always use better weapons."

"I suggest getting out of here and leaving me in peace will unleash your creative juices, Dustin," came a voice from the corner. It was Sensei, our—their guinea pig leader. "Maybe they'll get themselves killed if I'm lucky," he mumbled.

"Sensei's right," Shane chimed in. "Let's go trash the city."

"Yeah, bro," Hunter agreed, standing.

"Dustin," Tobi began as the yellow ranger got up to join the others. The moment their eyes met, a smile curled up on the side of Dustin's mouth. "Uh, have you seen Tori?" he finally managed to spit out. He was sure he was bright red by now.

"Nope, Tobs," Dustin replied. "She's probably already out there. You know how _wild_ she is. Now, out of our way."

"Yeah, move it princess!" Blake shouted as he shoved past Tobi. After a moment, they were all gone.

"I don't suppose you know where my sister is?" Tobi asked the small guinea pig that remained behind.

"Why are you asking me?" Sensei scoffed. "Who am I, her babysitter?"

Tobi just turned in his tracks and left.

"Don't let the waterfall splash you on the way out!" Sensei shouted behind him.

* * *

As Tobi entered the town of Blue Bay Harbor, he could hear the distant explosions that meant the Power Rangers were already busy wrecking havoc. Being naturally so timid, kelzaks and aliens cowered away from the distant sounds.

Tobi pictured the Power Rangers in their skin tight spandex, their legs high kicking and—No, he had to calm himself or else he'd be walking around with an erection. And he doubted it would be pointing him in the direction of his sister. He wondered if Dustin, in his yellow outfit that hugged both his crotch and butt... if he really did have a creative block or if he just wanted to blow stuff up. He was kind of serious, but who didn't want to have a little fun? At least he managed to always secretly get the other rangers to stick to the industrial side of town instead of the residential areas. Dustin claimed it was because things on that side of town blew up better. He even had a scientific explanation for that, but Tobi wondered...

Just then, Tobi passed in front of a sporting goods store called _Storm Chargers_. Something about the place made him pause for a moment.

He heard voices coming from the store. "And the mayor does nothing about them," a male alien voice complained.

"That's because he's a wimp," a female human voice replied. "If I saw a Power Ranger..."

Tobi shook his head and trudged on. "Tori!" he called out, but still with no reply. For all he knew, she was off joining the rest of the real ninjas in their mayh—

"Ah!" Tobi began to scream just as a hand clamped over his mouth and he was dragged quickly into an alley. He kicked and writhed, but the hand belonged to something much too big to be a human.

"Good work, Zurgane," a female voice said. A woman in black punk attire stepped into Tobi's field of view and began to study him. She reached out and moved the hair away from one side then the other of his face. "This is him alright. I've seen him with the Power Rangers."

"But, Kelly—I mean, ma'am," a voice from behind Tobi quickly corrected, "if he's not a real Power Ranger—"

"I'm sure the mayor will still pay for the poser," the woman argued. "Lothor's too much of a wus to go after the Power Rangers himself. He'll be _so_ grateful for any little help cleaning up the streets. Maybe he could even be used as a pawn in negotiating with the Power Rangers."

"But I don't think—" Zurgane began.

"No, you don't think," Kelly declared. "That's why I left Choobo in charge of the store while I was gone. Now drag him this way."

Tobi was dragged roughly through the alleyway when suddenly an explosion blocked their path. It was quickly followed by another.

A shot hit Tobi's captor, sending them both to the ground, but also freeing him. Tobi jumped up, taking a fighting stance. He may not have been a Power Ranger, but he had practiced all their moves.

As a few more shots hit the fallen Zurgane, Kelly made her break for it. Just then, a blue streak appeared in front of Tobi. Once it stopped, it became recognizable. It was the blue Power Ranger. She raised her gun for another shot and blasted Kelly in her butt. "Bitch," the water ranger muttered.

"Tori!" Tobi declared happily.

"Shhh!" the blue ranger scolded. Once Kelly and Zurgane were out of sight, the ranger morphed into a girl with long blonde hair in a blue shirt and jeans. She looked remarkably similar in appearance to Tobi, her twin brother.

"Thanks," Tobi said.

"No problem," Tori replied. "So, why were you looking for me?"

"I thought maybe we could go surfing," Tobi suggested.

"Surfing is for losers," Tori scoffed.

"Come on, Tori," Tobi pleaded. "Don't be a jerk with me."

She looked around quickly, then whispered, "You're way too sensitive, little brother. It's going to get you hurt."

"I was only born a few minutes after you and I can handle myself," Tobi assured her.

She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you can. So, where do you want to go surf?"

* * *

Moments later, the twins were at the beach. As usual, it was crowded with more aliens and kelzaks than humans. Getting his mind off Dustin by scooping out hot guys was going to be hard, but Tobi enjoyed surfing at least.

Tori caught her brother looking around. "None of them will compare to Dustin," she teased, making a kissy face.

Tobi slapped her arm playfully while he removed his shirt. "And none compare to Blake either, I'm sure."

"Don't even go there," she scolded.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" a bronze chested guy in a red Speedo holding a surf board that Tobi had been watching said as he approached the two siblings.

"Nothing," Tobi said defensively.

"We were just noticing your board and wondered if you were any good," Tori chimed in, removing her jeans and shirt to reveal a swimsuit. She was always prepared.

"I'm sure I can beat your white asses," the guy mocked.

"I wish," Tobi muttered, amazed at what the guy seemed to be able to fit into such a tiny Speedo. It looked ready to burst.

"Quit drooling," Tori whispered to her brother, jabbing him in the ribs before addressing the dark haired stud. "Let's find out," she said, grabbing her board.

Tobi grabbed his and followed Tori, grabbing her arm as the guy went on ahead. "But, Tori, you don't know how to surf."

"I know that," Tori defended, "but that Speedo is just begging to be torn off by a tidal wave."

Tobi grinned as they ran toward the surf. If only he had special ninja powers, he thought.

The moment the Speedo guy was on his board, he was pounded with wave after wave as Tori stood at the shore laughing.

Tobi managed to ride some of the larger waves, but the poor guy was being thrown around in the water as waves tossed him back and forth like a volleyball. A moment later, a loud snap was heard over the sound of crashing waves. A torn Speedo hit Tobi right in the face, causing him to lose his balance and wipe out.

Meanwhile, Tori was laughing uncontrollably. As the waves died down, the guy crawled naked onto the shore, coughing up water the whole time.

Tobi managed to pull his head above water in time to get a clear view of the guy's bare butt and his incredible endowment hanging below it.

Just then, a whirlpool began to form around Tobi. As he tried to paddle his board back to shore, a strange light surrounded him.

Noticing this, Tori dove in after her brother, but she was helpless in the water. "Tobi!" she called out while trying to stay afloat.

"Tor—" was all Tobi managed to get out before a wave smashed against him, forcing him underwater. The last thing he noticed before he blacked out was a pair of legs swimming toward him and how strangely bright the water around him was. Then, he passed out.

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_**To be continued...**_


	2. Weird World

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi is teased by the Power Rangers. While looking for his sister, he is kidnapped by **_**_Kelly_**_**, but he is quickly rescued by Tori, his twin. Later, the two have some... fun at the beach until a bright light forces Tobi underwater...**_

**

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 2 (Weird World)

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**

A pair of soft yet clearly masculine lips were pressed hard against Tobi's all too willing mouth and he could feel powerful hands on his bare chest. It was like one of his dreams—like the one where Dustin becomes overcome with lust while everyone else is out and it's just him and Tobi in Ninja Ops. Of course, in that dream, he wasn't coughing up water like he was now.

Tobi squinted open his eyes to see the blurry image of a figure above him. The dark hair and skin could only be... "Dustin," Tobi choked out.

"Huh?" the figure said in reply. "Are you alright, dude?"

Tobi blinked several times until his vision cleared. It wasn't Dustin at all. It was the guy in the red Speedo. He must have had a backup Speedo because he was wearing another too-tight red Speedo. Maybe they snapped off and flew in people's faces a lot. It was too bad because the only thing better than getting mouth to mouth from a hunk in a Speedo would be getting mouth to mouth from a nude (and well endowed) hunk.

"I'm fine," Tobi said forcefully as he pushed the jerk off of him. Why was he acting so different now? As he got up, he noticed the logo on something attached to the guy's wrist. He was a lifeguard. Since when would a human make a good lifeguard? But, instead of pondering farther, he scrambled off quickly.

Something seemed different about the beach and then he realized that there were no kelzaks or even a single alien in sight. Maybe the Power Rangers were attacking nearby. Monsters were always the first to be scared off.

Then, looking around farther, he noticed that his sister was nowhere to be found. Their stuff was gone too, along with her van. Why would she just abandon him? Maybe it was that jerk Shane playing a prank again. Whatever the reason, Tobi just stole a yellow tank top and a pair of sandals before leaving the beach.

* * *

The town was quiet. It figured that the moment the rangers were done blowing stuff up, they'd have plenty of time to punk him. If only his sister wasn't such a sucker for Blake. She'd go along with the others just to make him happy, even if it meant hurting her own twin brother.

Tobi looked around and again noticed the lack of anyone but humans. This was starting to get a little weird. After all, if the Power Rangers had stopped attacking, why would every non human still be hiding? Plus, not all monsters were cowerds (just most of them).

Then he noticed the same sporting goods store as before. He was about to avoid the site of his near abduction when something caught his eye. He thought he saw Dustin. But he always thought he saw Dustin. It was a sure sign Tobi was in—No, he wasn't going to go there.

"Dustin, customers," a familiar female voice called. Tobi recognized it as the voice of Kelly from the alley and he immediately dove out of sight.

"I'm almost done," came the unmistakable voice of Dustin. But what was he doing in Storm Chargers? Of course! The rangers had been behind Tobi's attempted kidnapping. It was just like them, but something didn't seem quite right.

Tobi peaked around the corner to see Dustin coming out of a back room while wiping sweat and what looked like motor oil from his face and hands. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I guess I got a little distracted."

"What else is new?" Kelly replied with a grin. But this wasn't the same Kelly from before. She looked like she had a complete makeover. She was dressed in some casual clothes that belonged on a park dweller, though a little subdued to be considered full-on hippie.

Just then, two people approached Tobi. He turned around to see Hunter and Blake. A shot of fear hit him, but he quickly forced it away. He scowled at them as they walked past him and started to enter the store.

Blake bumped Tobi's arm, causing him to look over at the cowering Tobi. "Oh, sorry," Blake said. "Didn't see you there."

The two then proceeded to enter the store and approach Dustin.

It was strange. They had totally ignored him, but not in a mean way. It was almost like...

"Yo, Dustin!" Blake announced.

Dustin looked up, his face quickly forming a beautiful, excited smile. "Blake! Hunter! Dudes!" he cheerfully greeted them. "I'm almost off, right Kel?" He turned and gave Kelly a pleading look.

"Alright," Kelly relented, "but I expect you here early tomorrow."

"Right!" Dustin agreed excitedly. "I'll be totally early!"

Tobi watched as Kelly roller her eyes and walked off.

"Dude," Hunter began, "when was the last time you showered?"

"Yeah," Blake agreed with a grin. "You stink man."

Dustin lifted his arm and sniffed. "Dude!" he gasped, staggering backward a step. "You guys are _so_ right."

Hunter smiled. "Clean up and meet us back at Ninja Ops."

This scene didn't make any sense to Tobi. First off, since when did Dustin work for anyone, let along someone Tobi just met today? Also, Dustin was never dirty or sweaty. He defiantly wouldn't be covered in motor oil. And why would he be in a sporting goods store? He hated any sport that didn't involve explosions or a computer screen.

It was time for answers (and courage), so Tobi entered the store. Just like outside, it was also strangely free of aliens or kelzaks. He bravely walked right up to the three.

Dustin was the first to notice him. "Sorry, but I'm like off work now," Dustin said to Tobi. "Kelly can help you though."

Tobi gave him a puzzled look. Even Dustin was pretending not to know him. This little prank was wearing thin. "What are you guys up to?" Tobi demanded. "It's not funny, jerkoffs."

"Woah!" Blake said, raising his arms. "Calm down. I think you got us confused with someone else."

Tobi raised an eyebrow and looked toward Dustin. The confusion in his eyes was clear and it was a look Tobi didn't remember seeing from know-it-all Dustin.

"Sensei might not have a problem with you guys' pranks, but I'm sick of them," Tobi finally got up the courage to say.

"Dude, did you just say... Sensei?" Dustin asked, lowering his voice.

The other two stared at Tobi. "Just because everyone else is afraid of the Power Rangers doesn't mean I'm afraid of you guys," Tobi continued.

Blake and Hunter exchanged looks before grabbing Tobi by the arms and pulling him outside.

"Let me go!" Tobi demanded, spinning in place while kicking out until he landed just behind the two. He immediately took up a fighting stance.

"Wow," Dustin muttered as he emerged from the store.

Hunter and Blake were quick to take up similar stances to Tobi's

"Dudes, what's going on?" Dustin demanded, confusion still in his dark gold eyes.

Tobi made the first move, flipping back onto his arms and hitting Blake in the chest with both feet. He somersaulted back until he was standing again.

Blake wasted no time in recovering and returning a leg swipe while also punching.

When Tobi went to counter the punch, he left his legs open and the swipe sent him to the ground.

Hunter was quick to force Tobi's arms behind his back and pin him against his chest.

"Listen," Blake said, catching his breath. "We don't know who you are, but—"

Just then a beeping sound came from the three's wrist morphers. Dustin looked at the others before raising his. "Uh, yeah?" he greeted.

"Hey guys," came Cam's voice. "We need you back at Ninja Ops now."

"We're on our way," Hunter called from behind Tobi.

"What about him?" Dustin asked. The look in his eyes was so different. It was like he seriously didn't even know him and Tobi felt something inside him break. Maybe he really was in love with—

"I guess we have no choice but to bring him," Hunter suggested.

"I don't think Sensei will like that, but I don't have a better idea," Blake agreed. "Let's blindfold him though." He watched Tobi suspiciously.

"Like, what can we use for a blindfold?" Dustin asked.

Tobi felt Hunter shift behind him. As he did, he clearly felt that Hunter had an erection. The jerk was getting off on manhandling him. Tobi groaned inwardly.

"I have an idea," Hunter replied. "Dustin, take off your shirt."

"What?" Dustin asked, his eyes widening.

"The odor will make him pass out," Blake said before realizing his brother's plan. "Oh, right. Good plan, bro."

Dustin looked reluctant, but still removed his grungy yellow shirt, revealing his earth colored chest and nipples. Hunter wasn't the only one getting boned now. But, no sooner had Dustin's slender yet muscular arm reached up, revealing dark hair in the pits, then Tobi passed out.

* * *

When he awoke, he found himself in Ninja Ops surrounded by the guys.

"What do you suggest we do with the shirt?" Cam asked, using a pair of tongs to hold it away from himself.

"Dude! I say we burn it!" Shane suggested, covering his mouth with his hand.

Hunter and Blake both had shirts covering their mouths and noses, so they agreed to take Dustin's shirt outside.

"I suggest you not try anything," a voice came from above Tobi. He looked up to see Sensei. The guinea pig had a suspicious look on his tiny face.

"Do I ever?" Tobi mumbled as he sat upright.

"Who are you?" Shane asked. "Do you work for Lothor?"

Tobi couldn't help but laugh. "My fighting skills aren't _that_ bad!" It was one thing to pretend not to know him, but why accuse him of working for the mayor? It's not like Lothor was even a threat to the Power Rangers.

"What are you talking about?" Shane asked.

"Doesn't he look familiar to you?" Cam asked. "It's like I've seen him somewhere—" A noise from the computer near him caused him to spin around in his seat. "It looks like Lothor's monster isn't content to stay in the outskirts of town and there's still no signal from Tori's morpher." Cam was not only using Dustin's computer, but he was acting like him (except that he seemed genuinely concerned about Tori).

"Keep trying," Shane encouraged, patting Cam on the shoulder. There wasn't a hint of a growl in his voice. Shane too looked worried about Tori. Things just kept getting weirder.

"You can't find Tori?" Tobi asked.

"If you know where Tori is, please tell us," Sensei said way too nicely. It was freaking Tobi out.

"We were at the beach and I got caught in a riptide," Tobi explained. He had no reason not to go along with their weird little game, but the more he thought about it the less he thought it was a game. In fact, he was starting to wonder if it was all a bizarre dream. "After I was rescued by a lifeguard—a human lifeguard—Tori was already gone. Then I looked around town and everything was all weird. There weren't any kelzaks or aliens anywhere. I mean, nowhere. And then I ran into Dustin, Hunter and Blake and they were pretending not to know me and it pissed me off. I mean, you guys always pick on me and I'm not the weak pansy you think I am. Tori can beat your asses and she's a girl so you better believe her brother can kick some ass too."

"Wait a minute," Shane said, a confused look on his face. "You're saying you're Tori's brother?"

"Duh," Tobi said. "We're twins." Why was Shane acting dumb and Cam acting smart. Talk about role reversals!

"That's why he looks so familiar," Cam realized.

"But Tori doesn't have a twin brother," Shane insisted. Great, Tobi thought. He was in a dream where he was never born. It was just like the movie _It's A Wonderful Life_ except it turns out everyone's actually _better_ off without him having been born. He groaned loudly.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked, returning with Blake.

"Any sign of Tori?" Blake asked, more genuine concern in his voice. Yes, things were definitely better in this reality where Tobi had never been born (at least for everyone else).

"No," Cam replied as Hunter and Blake approached, "but—" he stopped himself. "What's your name?"

Tobi rolled his eyes and answered, "Tobi. Tobi Hanson."

"Hanson?" Blake said in surprise.

"The dude says he's Tori's twin brother," Shane commented, clearly not believing it himself.

"Tori never told us she had a twin," Blake said.

"She doesn't," Shane continued to insist.

"But he might still know where Tori is," Cam offered.

"Sounds like one of Lothor's tricks to me," Hunter said.

"That might be the case," Cam replied, trying to sound diplomatic, "but it's still worth checking out."

"What's worth checking out?" came Dustin's voice. Tobi turned to see Dustin enter and he had to catch his breath. Dustin was wearing a clean layered blue and yellow shirt combination and camouflage shorts and he had obviously just showered thoroughly. He looked gorgeous.

Tobi caught himself staring and looked away quickly. When he did, he noticed Hunter giving him a strange look. He knew. Well, everyone must know by now, Tobi figured. But, no, in this reality, no one even knew him at all.

"We might have a lead on where Tori is," Cam explained while Dustin approached.

"Then let's go!" Dustin said, sounding energetic. "That moth guy's not gonna wait forever for us to smoke him." Even clean, this Dustin seemed so different.

"Dustin's right," Shane agreed. "Where did you last see Tori?" he asked Tobi.

"We were at the beach near where all the aliens with tentacles love to hang out," Tobi explained.

The others looked at each other blankly.

"It's the long patch of flat beach between the two lowest cliffs," Tobi added.

"I know where that is," Blake spoke up. "Tori likes to surf there."

"Then let's go!" Dustin insisted.

"What about him?" Hunter asked, gesturing toward Tobi.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Cam offered.

"This better not be a trap," Hunter commented.

"If it is, we'll be ready," Shane assured them.

As the others left, Tobi reached down and pinched himself.

"No, you're not dreaming," Cam said.

Tobi looked up at him. "What's going on?" he asked, the hostility and demanding gone from his voice. "Everyone's acting so weird. It's like everything turned upside down."

"Maybe it would help if you start at the beginning," Cam suggested.

Tobi took a deep breath and began talking about how his sister and her friends became Power Rangers, how the blundering Sensei had accidentally turned himself into a guinea pig and had been jaded ever since, how mayor Lothor was so afraid of the Power Rangers that he just stood by while they trashed his city and how he finally found himself in this strange world.

"I don't know about the part where I turn myself into a guinea pig instead of Lothor doing so," Sensei commented, "but the rest sounds like a parallel dimension. What do you think, Cameron?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Cam agreed. "Where he comes from, the Power Rangers are evil and Lothor is good."

"One brother is always fallen," Sensei mused.

A noise from Cam's computer distracted them. "It looks like they found Tori," Cam said, relief in his voice, "but now they're having trouble with Lothor's monster. It keeps regenerating."

"You should go, my son," Sensei encouraged. "They need you." Cam looked at Tobi quickly. "He will be fine here," Sensei assured his son.

"I'm at least activating Cyber Cam," Cam said before dashing off to join the battle on his computer screen.

Just then another Cam appeared out of thin air and immediately sat down at the computer console. "Looks like things will be A-OK now," he said. "This bug's about to have a run-in with the _exterminator_."

"Cam," Tobi muttered. It was finally the Cam he knew, the ditsy, goofy Cam. He reached out and poked Cam's shoulder. For having appeared out of nowhere, he felt real enough.

"Nope, I'm Cyber Cam. I'm here, so Cam can be there," he said, pointing at the screen. The way he moved his arms made it look like he was about to bust out some robotic dance moves.

"So, you're a duplicate of Cam?" Tobi asked.

"A virtual replicant," Cyber Cam replied.

"Do you have virtual versions of any of the other rangers? I mean, one you can touch and all?" Tobi asked, his mind racing with the possibility of his very own personal Dustin to play with. Maybe this new "parallel dimension" wasn't so bad after all, he thought.

"Nope," Cyber Cam answered. "Total bummer, I know."

"Tell me about it," Tobi muttered. When he looked back at the monitor, the battle was already over. It had taken all six Power Rangers to defeat one single monster. The Power Rangers in this dimension were obviously a whole lot weaker. So why hadn't _he_ been able to defeat Hunter and Blake?

"We totally squashed that bug!" came Dustin's cheering voice as the rangers returned—all of them, including Tori.

Tobi stood, raising his arm to wave and relieved to see his sister.

"Who's that?" Tori asked, pausing from high-fiving the others to notice Tobi standing.

"Tori," Cam began, stepping away from the others and toward Tobi, "meet your twin brother."

_**

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To be continued...

* * *

**_

_Author Note: You can get Tori's perspective of this chapter by watching the episode "The Wild Wipeout" on Youtube or something like that. You might find the parts where the perspectives meet humorous._


	3. Twins

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi finds himself in a strange world with nothing but humans. When he confronts Dustin, Hunter and Blake, they claim not to know him and he's taken to Ninja Ops unconscious. After a battle, the Power Rangers (who are good in this dimension) return and Tori meets her twin brother...**_

**

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 3 (Twins)**

* * *

"My twin brother?" Tori repeated in disbelief. "What are you guys talking about?" She laughed a little, like it was some kind of a joke.

"He's from a parallel dimension," Cam explained.

"Wait a minute," Tori commented. "That giant moth we just beat sent me to a parallel dimension where the Power Rangers were bad and Lothor and his gang were good. Marah and Kapri were hippies and everything."

"Sounds like a totally chillin' place," Cyber Cam said, "except for the whole Power Rangers being bad part."

Cam walked over and deactivated Cyber Cam, causing him to vanish in a fading set of horizontal lines. "It does sound like the same dimension to me," the real Cam commented.

"So, he's like Tori's evil twin?" Dustin asked.

"Sounds like one of Lothor's tricks," Hunter suggested.

"Why are you guys talking about me like I'm not even here?" Tobi demanded.

"Sorry dude," Dustin replied. "So, are you like... _evil_?"

"I wish," Tobi muttered.

"I'm not sure we can trust him," Tori said. "I mean, the other versions of us were total creeps."

"All of them?" Blake asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Tori replied. "Especially you."

"Tor, Blake began, "I—"

"We should at least like give him a chance," Dustin offered.

"Dustin, dude," Shane warned. "Don't forget about—"

"I haven't forgotten about Marah," Dustin replied hotly. "I just think..." He looked at Tobi, making him feel like he might melt. "We should give him a chance, that's all."

The others may have still been jerks, but this Dustin was different. He trusted Tobi and that meant a lot to him.

"If he doesn't belong in our dimension," Hunter began, "maybe we can send him back."

Tobi thought about that and he wasn't sure he wanted to go back just yet. Sure, everything was strange and everyone acted weird, but there was something to these new Power Rangers—especially Dustin.

"With Goldwinger destroyed, I don't know that we can send him back," Cam explained. "If that's what he wants." He looked questioningly at Tobi.

Tobi looked from Cam to the others. "I'll stay," he finally said.

"Why are we giving this guy a choice?" Hunter asked.

"We gave you and Blake a choice and you two have proven invaluable to the team," Sensei explained.

"Maybe Sensei's right," Shane said. "I'm just not sure if this is one of those times to trust or be cautious."

"Me neither," Tori agreed.

Tobi knew that he needed to get his sister alone if there was any hope of getting her to trust him. He wasn't sure about the others, but (except for Dustin) he didn't really care a whole lot about them. "Tori, I need to talk to you... alone," Tobi said.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Tor," Blake immediately spoke up.

"I think I can handle myself," Tori said with a grin, "but thanks for your concern."

"Maybe one of us should go with you," Shane offered.

"What part of alone doesn't make sense to you?" Tobi asked, rolling his eyes at how ridiculous it was that these wimpy Power Rangers thought he was such a threat. He would have felt flattered if he hadn't seen that it took six of them to beat one alien.

"A ninja's strength comes from one's ability to assess a situation and then follow one's instincts," Sensei advised. "What do your instincts tell you, Tori?"

Tori stared at Tobi for a moment. "My instincts tell me he's definitely my twin." She looked him up and down. "And I can take him."

A grin curled up on Tobi's mouth. This was his sister alright.

"Let's go in the training room," Tori suggested. "Nothing can break in there."

Tobi stood up and his sister led him toward a door.

"Watch your back, Tor," Blake warned.

* * *

Once they were alone, Tori turned to Tobi. "Okay, I'm listening," she said.

"It's nice to finally be with you, Tori," he said, an obvious sense of relief in his voice. "You wouldn't believe what I've been through."

She smiled. "I probably would."

"Right," he said. "What did you think of reality—I mean, the other reality?"

"It was... interesting," she said, making a face. "I wouldn't want to live there."

Tobi looked surprised. "Why not?"

"Well, for one, the Power Rangers were just a bunch of trouble makers," she said as if it was obvious.

"Yeah, they can be real jerks, but at least it doesn't take six rangers to defeat one alien," he pointed out.

"It was kind of weird helping Lothor and a bunch of monsters defeat the Power Rangers," Tori admitted.

"What?" Tobi asked. "I thought the mayor was too afraid of the Power Rangers and everyone knows monsters are even wimpier than kelzaks."

She laughed. "I convinced Lothor that it was his job as mayor to protect the city. It was really weird, but now I'm back to a world where the Power Rangers are the good guys and monsters don't play with beach balls."

"And that's so much better?" Tobi asked skeptically. "I mean, I don't mind that not all of you guys are jerks, but every alien, kelzak and monster is evil? What, do animals attack too? Puppy dogs peeing in people's faces and all that?"

"Not yet, thankfully, but I wouldn't put it past Lothor," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Tori," he began, trying to find the right words, "this Dustin is really different and I was just wondering if he's different in a certain way."

"If you mean, is he an air head instead of 'the smart one,' then yes,," she explained. "But he's also very trusting, so I'm probably not letting you alone with him just yet."

"Oh," Tobi replied. "I just thought... maybe this Dustin was into guys?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "Oh my god," she gasped. "You have a crush on Dustin."

"Since we were kids," he replied.

"What? How—Oh, right," she realized. "So, you're... gay? Bi?"

"Gay," he answered. "But, what about Dustin?"

"I haven't caught him checking any guys out," she admitted. "You know, you don't really seem gay. Well, maybe except for the hair."

"What's wrong with my hair? Cam said the same thing. The real—the _other_ Cam that is." He paused. "This is so weird."

"Tell me about it," Tori said with a smile. "I have a twin brother. And he has a crush on one of my best friends." Something occurred to her and her expression changed. "Are we—you and the other me—close?"

"Of course," Tobi replied. "If it wasn't for your crush on Blake, it would have probably been just the two of us."

"Wait, the other me has a crush on Blake?" she asked.

"You mean, _you_ don't?"

"I guess he's kind of cute and he can be nice at times…" she admitted, blushing.

"Not as cute as Dustin when he's frustrated, though," Tobi added.

"I don't know about that," she argued. "Not to knock Dustin or anything. He's really nice and he'd be a great catch for any girl—or guy, but Blake has a better butt."

"I _so_ disagree!" Tobi scoffed. "Dustin's butt is legendary!"

"If you say so," Tori said with a grin before straightening up. "The others probably think you killed me by now or something."

"Right," Tobi agreed, a nervous look in his eyes.

"You're afraid of them," she realized.

"No," he replied defensively. "That's stupid. I'm not afraid of those punks. Just because they don't trust me—"

"I'm starting to think the whole tough guy thing is just an act," Tori accused. "Maybe you had to be that way before, but you don't now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tobi defended. "I _am_ tough."

"Of course you are." She smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

As the twins retuned to the others, the remaining rangers turned around from their position of being huddled around Cam's computer monitor.

"I'm surprised one of you didn't try to break down the door," Tori commented.

"Cam put you guys on monitor so we could see you were alright," Shane explained.

Both Tobi and his sister gave the group a quick, panicked look. "You mean you were listening to our conversation?" Tori asked.

"Dude, we would never do that," Dustin replied defensively, but the look from the others suggested that's exactly what they _wanted_ to do.

"I had the volume off," Cam assured them.

"Right, then," Tori replied, relieved. "I don't think Tobi is a threat, but he'll still need a chance to prove himself." Her eyes wandered to Blake for a moment as she thought about her conversation with Tobi. "What do you guys suggest?"

"We could tie him up," Hunter offered.

"What is it with you and bondage?" Tobi asked.

Hunter just glared at him.

"Cam can make a lie detector," Shane said.

"Thanks for your faith in me," Cam replied, "but—"

"I know! We could do a test of endurance or something like that," Dustin suggested.

"What are you into, man?" Shane asked.

Tobi immediately thought he was asking him what gender he preferred. Maybe Shane was even coming on to him. He felt his cheeks flush, so he tried to regain his composure.

"Dude, you're like turning red," Shane pointed out. "I was just asking if you were into any sports or that kind of thing."

"Oh," Tobi replied. "I'm good at surfing and wakeboarding."

"What about skateboarding?" Shane suggested.

"Skateboarding and surfing aren't real—" Blake began before he noticed Tori watching and added, "Well, surfing's okay, but what about a real sport like motocross?"

"Since when is surfing not a real sport?" Tori defended, looking at Tobi and mouthing something, as if to say, "I'm supposed to have a crush on this guy?"

"What's Dustin into?" Tobi suddenly asked.

"I'm totally into motocross," Dustin replied.

"You know, I don't know much about motocross," Tobi admitted. "That's with motorcycles or bikes or something like that, right? Maybe you can teach me." He grinned suggestively toward Dustin.

"Smooth," Hunter mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Sure!" Dustin replied excitedly. "You'll totally love it!"

"Then it's settled," Tori announced. "While you guys get dirty, I'll be practicing an _almost_ real sport—surfing." She intentionally glared at Blake.

"Wait up, Tor," Blake replied, standing. "I'm sorry about what I said. Can I come too?"

"If you want," Tori agreed, hiding a grin.

"You're not coming with us?" Hunter asked his brother.

Blake put a hand on his shoulder and seemed to be conveying something without words to Hunter. "I'll catch you later," Blake finally said.

Before they left Ninja Ops, Tobi caught his sister. "They're acting even stranger now," he whispered. "How do you know they weren't listening in on our conversation earlier?"

"Because Dustin never lies," Tori replied.

"He doesn't?" Tobi couldn't help but be shocked.

"Well, he does play dumb sometimes to avoid the truth," she admitted. "Now you have me wondering if Dustin has secrets or if he's really as open as he seems."

And, as Tori and Blake left, Tobi hoped Dustin had at least one secret he was keeping and—if he did—Tobi was determined to find out if it was what he _hoped_ it was.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	4. Where To Stay?

_Author's Note: A review! Someone read my story and (gasp) likes it! Thanks ken627 (or, just Ken/Kenneth?)!_

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tori discovers she has a twin brother from another dimension who has a crush on her best friend, Dustin. The others don't trust him, but he wins her over. Meanwhile, he plots to discover if Dustin has a certain secret attraction...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 4 (Where To Stay?)**

* * *

"Dude, hold still or I won't be able to get it in," Dustin ordered.

"My butt's sore already and we haven't even started!" Tobi protested.

"It's just the position you're in," Dustin explained. "This'll be totally fun!"

"I don't see why I couldn't start off riding y—"

"The first time just takes some getting used to," Dustin interrupted. "I remember my first time," he mused before saying, "Here goes..."

"Ow!" Tobi screamed. "Put it out! Pull it out!"

"Dude, I so thought this would work," Dustin whined, sounding defeated. "There, is that better?"

"I hope I can still walk," Tobi complained.

"I don't understand," Dustin pouted. "Cam didn't complain about it being too tight and we started out slow just like this."

"Well, either he's smaller than me or that safety belt shrank," Tobi replied, climbing off the minibike and rubbing his leg. He had a bruise under his shorts were the belt had been snapped in.

Tobi was near a dirt track with Dustin and Hunter. Shane was off skateboarding and Cam had decided to remain at Ninja Ops and monitor things (spy on everyone) from his computer.

The entire time Dustin tried to start Tobi out on the small bike, Hunter watched them with contempt in his eyes. It was like his blue eyes had turned red. Obviously Tobi hadn't won over Hunter's trust yet, but this parallel dimension Dustin was so trusting that it melted Tobi's heart like... like melted chocolate fudge over chocolate ice cream on top of chocolate cake. "I'm starving!" he suddenly realized.

"I could so go for some pizza myself," Dustin agreed, turning to Hunter.

"He just watched us go around the track and sat down," Hunter complained, "and _he's_ hungry? Plus, there is no way the midget is bigger than Cam."

"I'm hungry too, dude," Dustin said. "Don't tell me there's not something you're craving." He poked Hunter playfully in the stomach.

Hunter's eyes softened for a moment until he noticed Tobi watching him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, bro."

* * *

The three found some pizza joint and Dustin was first to the counter. "Two extra large pizzas with the works," Dustin told the human girl behind the counter. "What do you guys want?" he asked, tuning back to Tobi and Hunter.

"That's all for you?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Dustin replied with what was becoming a familiar sheepishly confused pout.

Tobi was starting to forget about his stomach already, but Dustin was doing more than reaching into his shorts to readjust his "earthworm." He seemed to be looking for something.

"Dude, I forgot my wallet," Dustin whined.

Normally, Tobi would have thought tough luck, but he'd do anything for Dustin, so he reached into his shorts and pulled out a plastic bag full of money (he used a plastic bag because, besides surfing, his sister back in the other reality loved to soak him). He began counting bills until Dustin grabbed one from him.

"Check this out," Dustin said, holding up the bill. On it was a picture of a former president.

"That's one ugly dude," Hunter commented.

"They only put President Zedd on the ten because his wife had that famous line, 'Finally, after ten thousand years, I'm free!'"" Tobi explained, making a convincing Rita Repulsa voice.

They both looked at him as if he was crazy for a moment until Dustin said, "Yeah! Rita Repulsa! Funniest bag guy ever!" He held his head and mocked, "Oh, I have such a headache!"

Tobi couldn't help but laugh at Dustin's behavior. "I'm guessing your money looks different in this weird dimension," he concluded, holding up a bill with President Mondo on it.

"You said you still didn't believe him," Dustin offered. "There's your proof." He picked up a coin and read the inscription, "In Dark Specter we trust."

Hunter just grunted and paid the girl for three pizzas with money that had nothing but old funny-haired humans on the bills.

At first, Hunter didn't want to share the pizzas _he_ paid for with Tobi, but Dustin convinced him otherwise and he caved pretty quickly.

As they ate, Tobi couldn't help but study this new Dustin. He ate pizza with two hands like it was going to run away at any moment. He definitely wasn't the neat eater the other Dustin was. Tobi was torn between finding it cute and finding it disgusting. It was such a fine line.

"Dude, I was thinking," Dustin said, spraying pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms and olives everywhere, "where will Twilight Zone Tobi stay?"

"Twilight Zone Tobi?" both Tobi and Hunter asked in unison while also picking food out of their clothes.

"You know," Dustin explained, "like the fifth dimension from the Twilight Zone. That's where Tobi is from."

"You're such a nerd," Hunter said with a grin before he stopped himself and became serious again. "But what do you mean where will he stay?"

"I can stay with Dustin," Tobi offered hopefully. "I mean, until Cam figures a way to send me back," he added quickly, though he was starting to hope he could stay a while longer at least.

Dustin looked up from his messy eating. "Dude, I thought you wanted to stay."

Tobi stared at him, blinking until flying mushrooms distracted him. "I do," he answered.

"He could still be one of Lothor's goons," Hunter protested. "He should be kept as far away from your bed as possible. Ninja Ops seems like the safest place."

"What was that about my bed?" Dustin asked as he discovered some peperoni in his hair, shrugged and ate it.

"Nothing," Hunter said quickly. "Just try a little harder to keep the pizza on your side of the table." No sooner had he picked a green pepper from his shirt sleeve then a pepperoni piece got him right in the eye. Removing it, he added, "And maybe we should tie him up..."

* * *

Later, back at Ninja Ops, Tori returned with Blake. They both had big smiles on their faces.

"You two did it, didn't you?" Tobi whispered to his sister.

"Of course not!" she defended. "He just admitted he likes me and then I _tried_ to teach him how to surf."

"Did you blast his clothes off at least?" Tobi asked.

"What? Did the other me really do that?"

"Yeah. It was pretty funny. The guy's speedo hit me in the face."

Tori couldn't help but giggle, even though she replied, "That's mean."

"What's mean?" Blake asked, trying to look casual but obviously wanting to ravage Tori sexually.

"Uh, nothing," she replied lamely.

"We were just talking about where I will stay now that I'm in this dimension," Tobi said in an attempt to rescue his sister from "Blaking out."

"Oh, yeah," Tori said with a grin. "I think my parents would be a little suspicious if I show up with a twin brother they didn't know they had—especially my mom. That's not the kind of thing you forget."

"I guess he can stay with me and Hunter," Blake offered. It wasn't that he liked or even trusted Tobi, but he'd do anything for Tori.

Hunter coughed loudly and signaled for his brother. Blake excused himself with a sheepish smile and went over to him.

"Hey, Dustin," Tobi interrupted the yellow ranger while he was chatting in an animated manner with Shane. "Thanks for trying to teach me about motocross."

"No problem, dude," Dustin replied with a hypnotizing smile.

"Yeah," Tobi said blankly. "Uh, anyway, yeah. I'm sorry I was such a pain in the butt, but maybe we could give it another try. After I spend the night at your place, in the morning we could—"

A horrible gagging sound filled Ninja Ops.

"You okay, bro?" Blake asked as Hunter looked like he was going to die.

"You are not" choke "staying" hack "with" cough "Dustin!" Hunter insisted.

"You sound bad, man," Dustin told Hunter, patting him on his back. "Did you want TZT to stay with you or something?"

Hunter shook his head furiously.

"Tori, get him some water," Shane suggested.

"Tobi will remain here in Ninja Ops until a more permanent solution can be reached," came the voice of Sensei. "Tobi, Cameron will see to the arrangements. He will also see if it may be possible to return you to your rightful dimension."

There were words and nods of agreement all around, but Tobi couldn't help but feeling disappointed. After all, he couldn't stay with Dustin or his sister.

* * *

That night, everyone exchanged awkward goodbyes before Cam set up a cot for Tobi in a training room.

"I don't think this is any kind of a permanent arrangement," Cam told Tobi as he brought him a pillow. "Tomorrow I plan to search the area of the last battle for remains of Goldwinger. It may hold the key to identifying your specific dimensional origin. There are infinite possible realities—or so the theory goes."

Tobi couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Cam asked.

"It's just that you remind me a lot of Dustin," Tobi explained. When Cam gave him a confused look, he continued. "I mean, obviously not the looks, but you're all techno-nerdy like the other Dustin." Tobi thought for a moment. "It's weird how I can still like someone even when he's so different. I hope that doesn't mean I'm just superficial."

Cam figured he knew who Tobi was referring to. "I've never really thought of myself being much like Dustin. I mean, I wish, but now that I think about it, I do see some similarities."

"Like you're both geeks," Tobi pointed out. "Just different kinds of geeks."

"I was going to say that we're both misfits," Cam replied, "but everyone likes Dustin better."

"True," Tobi admitted, which caused Cam to look depressed. "Thanks for the pillow. It was really... nice of you to take care of me like this."

"You aren't used to that, are you?" Cam asked.

"Nope," Tobi admitted, testing out the cot and pillow. "But I think I could get used to it."

Cam sighed for a moment.

"What?" Tobi asked, instinctively sounding defensive.

"For a moment, you really looked like..." Cam began. "Nevermind. Goodnight." He turned to go.

"I remind you of Tori?" Tobi guessed.

Cam paused, but didn't turn around. "Only because you're twins."

That made sense, but so did something else. "You have a crush on Tori, don't you?" Tobi figured out.

Cam finally turned around and adjusted his glasses nervously.

"Well, as nice as you seem, I don't think I want to be a substitute for my sister," Tobi said. "I mean, I want to get off as much as any guy, but—since you like a girl—you'd probably want me to be the bottom and I'm still a virgin. I've always wanted my first time to be with someone I really loved, like... Dustin." He realized he had finally said out loud that he _loved_ Dustin. And to tell it to Cam of all people!

Cam had a petrified look on his face and his cheeks were bright red. "I, uh... Who told you I like... I mean... Just because you're blonde and... I mean, I don't want to have sex with you."

"Oh," Tobi replied somberly. "Join the club I guess."

"I just thought that..." Cam began. "Nevermind."

"Cut that out!" Tobi insisted. "Just spit it out."

"You and Tori seem to have hit it off fairly quickly and I..." Cam trailed off.

"You want me to hook you up with my sister," Tobi realized. He also realized that (if her alternative self was any sign) she was going to fall for Blake (if she hadn't already). But Tobi could easily lead Cam on in exchange for a reward... "Tell you what," Tobi said with an evil grin. "I'll do my best to hook you up with Tori if you do a little something for me."

"I don't think I can get Dustin to fall in love with you," Cam replied. "He likes girls."

"We'll see about that," Tobi muttered. "Maybe he just hasn't met the right guy. But, I have something else in mind."

"What's that?" Cam asked hesitantly. He could sense Tobi was up to something.

"I want my own personal Dustin plaything," Tobi said, "just like you have Cyber Cam and you can touch him and everything."

Cam thought about the request for a moment. "I probably don't want to know what you plan to do with a duplicate Dustin, but I might be able to modify the sparing program."

"What's that?" Tobi asked.

"It's designed to improve fighting skills," Cam explained. "The rangers fight against exact copies of themselves, complete with their own moves."

Tobi's eyes widened. "Cyber Cam said he was the only virtual person."

"That's probably because I created the other program before I created Cyber Cam," Cam theorized. "Also, they don't have independent thought processes, so they are not technically virtual replicants."

"So that means you already have a Dustin that can interact physically!" Tobi said excitedly, jumping up and down on the cot. "You could have it modified in no time! I could have my very own Dustin to sleep with tonight!" Thoughts of snuggling Dustins swirled around Tobi's head. He tucked his hair behind his ears and leaned forward, kissing Cam briefly on his forehead.

Cam looked flustered for a moment before he regained his composure. "Actually, I was going to call it a night. Reprogramming is delicate work. If it's rushed, he might end up like Cyber Tori."

"What?" Tobi shouted, getting off the cot.

"I had to take her offline because..." He looked embarrassed. "She had a penis. I thought I fixed everything after her personality went haywire, but there are so many variables."

"Uh," Tobi considered this carefully, "then I guess you should take your time." He knew Cam would expect results with his sister in exchange for progress on Cyber Dustin but the thought of Dustin having... girl parts totally grossed him out. Besides, he might have a chance with the real thing...

"We'll talk about this later," Cam said, opening the door to leave. "Goodnight."

Once Cam was gone, Tobi couldn't help but feel optimistic. It was a new feeling, like the feeling he got when people were nice to him. This parallel dimension wasn't too bad, he thought to himself as he looked around for a switch to turn off the light.

Something flashed out of the corner of his eyes when he tried a button on a panel that he thought might control the lights. Instead he turned around to see something that both shocked him and filled him with lust...

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	5. Beatings Before Breakfast

_Author's Note: Two more reviews! Thanks for the compliments, JDTB90, and I'll consider your thoughts on Dustin's... uh, position. And thanks so much davesamo for noticing that I accidentally posted Ch. 1 over this one. Ah! Glad you like it so far._

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dustin tries to teach Tobi motocross, but only succeeds in creating a series of sexual innuendos. Later, Tobi, Dustin and Hunter have pizza and Dustin nicknames the strange-cash-carrying reality shifter "Twilight Zone Tobi." Meanwhile, Tobi tries to figure out where to stay. In order to please everyone (and prevent Hunter from freaking out), Tobi spends the night at Ninja Ops, where he strikes a deal with Cam to create him a Cyber Dustin in exchange for hooking him up with his sister Tori (who seems to be falling for Blake). Later, Tobi looks for a light switch, but activates something else by mistake...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 5 (Beatings Before Breakfast)**

* * *

Standing in the center of the training room were completely motionless versions of Dustin, Tori and Shane. Tobi walked around the three a few times, paying close attention to Dustin's butt. He reached up and waved a hand in front of Dustin's shockingly beautiful face, but he still didn't so much as blink.

It was going to be just like his daydreams about being able to stop time and all the perverse things he did with that power. An evil grin spread over his face as he reached out and touched Dustin's arm, preparing to lean up into a statuesque kiss with the taller ranger.

Unfortunately, the moment Tobi touched the motionless Dustin, he immediately came to life, jumping back and kicking. He must have inadvertently activated the program, he realized. This was going to be more of a challenge than he thought.

Tobi dove toward Dustin, who smiled and easily jumped out of the way, kicking Tobi to the ground in the process.

"Playing hard to get, are we?" Tobi growled, running full force toward the object of his desire. Smack! The next thing he knew, he had a black eye, a bruised lip and his shin hurt like hell, but it had been worth it. He slept well that night.

* * *

The next day, Cam invited Tobi to join him for breakfast with his father.

"So, how did you sleep?" Sensei asked while eating guinea pig food. "You look as if you may have had difficulty in that area."

"Oh," Tobi said, realizing the fading dark circle around the eye facing Sensei. "I just had trouble finding the light switch is all." He looked from his and Cam's plates of pancakes to Sensei's food-like pellets. "Don't you eat real food?"

"What do you mean?" Sensei asked.

"The other Sensei orders mini meals," Tobi explained. "You know, miniature pizzas and stuff like that."

"They have that in your dimension and yet you describe my counterpart as being 'jaded'?" Sensei mused. "How... unusual."

"Uh huh," Tobi mumbled as he wolfed down his pancakes. "So, when are the others coming by?"

"Training will take place at ten," Sensei answered, now looking at the giant (compared to him) stack of pancakes with newfound intrigue.

"I've been wondering how you ended up here," Cam said, making sure to finish his bite of pancake before speaking. "I mean, in theory the alternate Tori would have ended up in this dimension when my—our Tori traveled to your dimension. Yet you ended up here and Tori said she didn't meet her other self..." He looked lost in thought.

"Are you saying my real sister from my dimension might have come here to this dimension?" Tobi asked, the thought of two Toris making his head dizzy but he was sure filling Cam's with wonderful three-way action.

"Either that or you being her twin had a cancellation effect," Cam theorized.

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked.

"Maybe two versions of one person can't exist in the same dimension so you came here instead," he said before hesitating. "But that would mean that the other Tori fell victim to the cancellation effect and she no longer exists in any dimension."

Tobi immediately gagged on his piece of pancake as he gave Cam a horrified expression.

Cam saw the horror in Tobi's eyes and quickly replied, "Though I don't think that theory holds any merit. She probably returned to your dimension the moment our Tori returned to us."

"Yeah," Tobi replied, trying to be optimistic. "She was probably causing havoc while she was here briefly before she went back and this Tori returned."

"Anyway, I'll get you something to change into while you clean up," Cam offered in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Tobi realized that he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and could probably use a shower. He didn't smell like this dimension's Dustin did the day they met, but he had no need for a special stink power since he wasn't even a Power Ranger. Besides, if he were a Power Ranger, he'd have a much cooler power (like the power to see through clothes or make guys adore him at will).

After a brisk shower filled with refreshing masturbation fantasies of Dustin, Tobi felt much better. He changed into some beige slacks and shook his head. This won't do at all, he thought to himself as he opened the bathroom door and called for Cam.

"What's wrong?" Cam asked, looking like he thought it was an emergency or something.

"Don't you have any yellow shirts?" Tobi asked. "I'm trying to impress Dustin here. Also, don't you think you should try wearing blue around Tori?"

"Ah, good point," Cam conceded. "I'll see what I can find."

"And beige slacks?" Tobi continued. "Really?"

* * *

By the time the others arrived, Tobi and Cam were waiting in Ninja Ops, both looking very conspicuous. Cam was wearing a blue dress shirt that Tobi had convinced him to unbutton the top three buttons of and some decent looking blue jeans. Tobi was wearing a yellow and green Hawaiian shirt that was completely unbuttoned with way too small gold shorts that looked like they had belonged to Cam when he was ten or younger.

"You're on time for once," Hunter said to the others as they entered.

"We beat you here," Shane bragged.

"Not by much," Blake replied with a laugh.

"I'm only ever late because I have to wait for these two slowpokes," Tori joked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dustin asked.

Then everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Cam, Tobi," Tori said slowly. "You two look... different today."

"Yeah, dude," Dustin agreed. "Different."

"What, are you Cyber Cam?" Blake asked Cam.

"I just thought I'd try a new color today," Cam said.

"Well, I like it," Tori commented, causing Cam's heart to flutter like an overworked CPU fan.

"Dude, I can totally see your junk," Shane said, making a face.

Tobi looked down at his shorts. They really didn't leave much to the imagination, especially since he had his legs spread toward Dustin provocatively. He had hoped Dustin would have been the first to notice though.

"So right," Dustin agreed. "I didn't want to say anything." At least he was staring. That was a good sign.

"Well, I think you two look adorable," Tori said with a pinch of Cam's and Tobi's cheeks.

Both Hunter and Blake coughed loudly in unison.

"Ah, yes, training," Cam said, still smiling and with bright red cheeks.

The group groaned.

"Shane and Hunter, pair off," Cam began. "Blake and Dustin. Tori, you and me will pair off."

So subtle, Tobi thought. He watched as the group paired off and sparred with one another. The moves were pretty much as the same moves the versions of each of them used back in his dimension.

Cam was obviously going easy on Tori and letting her win. He kept being knocked down way too easily and he would accidentally end up pulling her down on top of him. Blake kept looking over with burning jealousy in his eyes.

Tobi couldn't help but watch Dustin fight and wish he could join in. He had some virtual experience from last night, so he waited until Cam called a break.

"Tired?" Tobi asked Dustin casually, again spreading his open legs toward him suggestively.

"Yeah," Dustin admitted, unable to keep his eyes from taking at least one brief glance downward. His expression was either one of horrified surprise, horrified lust, or horrified disgust. It was hard to tell.

"Are you too tired to practice with me?" Tobi asked. "I'll go a lot easier on you because I don't have that much experience, not being a ninja or a Power Ranger and all." He gave Dustin a pathetic look.

"I guess that could be fun," Dustin agreed.

Tobi looked at him impatiently.

"What? Right now?" Dustin asked, huffing.

"Well, no time like the present," Tobi replied lamely.

"Okay, dude," Dustin said, taking a fighting stance.

Tobi jumped up at the opportunity and took a similar stance. He made the first move, diving for Dustin, who ended up being too surprised by the move to react in time. As Dustin fell backward, Tobi ended up on top of him, straddling his waist.

"That's not how you fight," Dustin said with a laugh, pushing Tobi off him playfully.

Tobi stood up as Dustin showed him a series of moves. He knew most of the moves, but he played dumb in order to get more one-on-one time with the hottie.

By now, the others were watching the two spar. Dustin went for a quick jab at Tobi's ribs, but Tobi dodged and spun his leg, toppling Dustin, who quickly flipped back onto his feet and took another swipe.

"He's not too bad," Cam said, casually positioning himself next to Tori.

"He takes after his sister," Tori said smugly.

"Isn't it time for the rest of us to continue our training?" Hunter asked.

Tori, Shane and Blake gave him a confused look.

"You're right," Cam agreed, oblivious to the others. "That's enough, Dustin and Tobi."

Tobi was currently humping Dustin's backside in an unusual move.

"You learn fast, TZT," Dustin said, catching his breath.

"You're a good teacher," Tobi said, pushing his hair away from his sweat covered face. Dustin was also covered in sweat and he couldn't help but reach out and wipe some sweat from Dustin's arms.

"Let's get in some real practice," Hunter said, pushing Tobi aside.

"Alright, this time we'll trade partners," Cam said. Hunter with Dustin and Shane with Blake." He turned toward Tori. "Oh, I guess that leaves us again."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say—" Tori began before she was cut off by an alarm from Cam's computer.

Spinning around, Cam activated his screen. "It looks like training will have to wait. One of Lothor's goons is attacking the city again."

"We're on it!" Shane said, immediately running for the exit with the others close behind.

"I don't suppose I'd be any help to them?" Tobi asked the moment the others had left.

"Honestly, no," Cam answered, not looking away from his screen. "Besides, their suits protect them."

"Wait, the spandex?" Tobi asked.

"It's not spandex," Cam replied.

"I'll have to take your word for it," Tobi said before adding, "So, about Cyber Dustin..."

"I haven't had a chance to start yet and now is not a good time," Cam argued.

"Well, then maybe you can make me a Power Ranger," Tobi replied. "Then I could help defeat all these big bad monsters."

"It's not that easy," Cam explained.

"I know! I could be the gold ranger! It's almost yellow and one of my favorite colors. Dustin would love me!"

Cam groaned loudly, clearly wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into when it came to Tobi. "Please put on some pants, at least while Dustin's gone," he insisted.

Well, he could take a hint! Tobi decided to stop dong his morning stretches within cam's peripheral vision. He went over to the corner instead. Ah, stretch those muscles! They'll be needed to tackle Dustin again soon enough!

* * *

The day seemed to drag by as Tobi waited for the others to return. He didn't want to pester Cam because he needed to be on his good side.

When the others finally returned, he was so excited that he greeted them with open arms (and spread legs).

"I'm glad to see you too," Tori replied, surprised by Tobi's sudden touchy feely behavior.

"You're like a happy puppy," Dustin said with a laugh as Tobi jumped him next.

Hunter tore Tobi off Dustin before he could start humping the earth ranger.

"So, what are you doing for the rest of the day?" Tobi asked Dustin.

"Oh no!" Dustin said, smacking his hand on his forehead dramatically. "I totally forgot about showing up early! Kelly's gonna kill me!"

"I'll help you out with your work," Tobi offered as Dustin ran for the exit, not even bothering to change from his yellow Power Ranger uniform.

"I'm coming too," Hunter insisted, following Tobi.

"Me too!" Blake agreed, following his brother.

"Wait for us!" Tori and Shane pleaded, running after the others.

Cam sighed loudly. "So much for continuing the training," he mumbled before turning back to his computer monitor and scanning the area for... something.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	6. Revealing Revelations

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi spars with a virtual Dustin. The next morning, he has breakfast with Cam, who theorizes that there may or may not be another Tori out there (from Tobi's dimension). Cam then changes into blue clothes to impress Tori while Tobi wears something very revealing (and yellow/gold) to impress Dustin. Later, Tobi spars with Dustin, but a monster breaks up their action. After the fight, Tobi decides to follow Dustin to Storm Chargers to help him with his work ...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 6 (Revealing Revelations)**

* * *

"Suck, don't blow," Dustin clarified. "And pucker your lips around it."

"I've never done this before," Tobi admitted, releasing his mouth only momentarily.

"I can tell," Dustin said with a smile, "but you're almost there."

Suddenly Tobi started coughing and gagging and spitting. "You should have warned me!" he yelled between hacking and spitting.

"That was kinda the point, dude," Dustin explained. "What did you expect?"

The things I do for love, Tobi thought as he continued to spit while still holding Dustin's limp hose.

Dustin had asked Tobi to help him use a hose to siphon some oil from the tank of a busted up bike to use in a working one. He would have much rather been giving Dustin a blow job. Then Tobi wouldn't have a mouth full of oil but instead a mouth full of—

"Come!" Dustin insisted. "Bring the hose over here. You're wasting the gas."

"What the hell is going on in here?" Hunter asked, charging his way into the back room of Storm Chargers.

"Dude, what did you think was going on in here?" Dustin asked defensively.

"It sounded like..." Hunter began, becoming flustered. "Nevermind." He stomped off, his cheeks bright red.

"What's wrong with Hunter?" Kelly asked as she walked in just as Hunter left.

"Don't know," Dustin replied.

"Who's your... friend?" Kelly asked with a suggestive grin.

"I'm Tobi," Tobi answered. "I'm Tori's—"

"Cousin," Dustin interrupted. "He's like visiting from out of town."

"Oh," Kelly replied. "Nice to meet you. Well, I'll let you two get back to... work." She then turned around and closed the door on her way out.

"Why'd you say I'm Tori's cousin?" Tobi asked.

"Because I know not everyone can handle the whole fifth dimension thing," Dustin explained.

"But you can," Tobi suggested.

"Of course, dude," Dustin replied. "I was the only one who believed in the Power Rangers before we became ones."

"I guess you're not the air head Tori said you were," Tobi commented.

Dustin looked hurt. "I come off that way a lot," he said somberly.

"You do," Tobi admitted, "but I can see though your layers." He gave Dustin a wink. "Tori also said you sometimes play dumb to avoid the truth.," he added, giving Dustin a playful hit.

Dustin stood up and took a sparing stance. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied playfully and a little embarrassed while he fought off a weak punch from Tobi. There was definitely more to this Dustin than first glance.

"You're going easy on me, aren't you?" Tobi asked, easily dodging Dustin's kick. The virtual Dustin from last night had left him sore and bruised.

"Kelly would kill me if we trashed her store," Dustin defended, blocking another blow from Tobi.

"And before, back at Ninja Ops?" Tobi asked.

"Well..." Dustin though, leaving him open to a tackle.

Tobi fell on top of a surprised Dustin.

"You like this position, don't you TZT?" Dustin accused.

Tobi felt Dustin's chest rising and falling against his own and Dustin's hot breath on his face. "I can be the one on the bottom if you want," Tobi said, leaning forward.

Dustin rolled over until he was on top of Tobi. He put his hands over Tobi's shoulders. "I have you pinned now!" he gloated. "_So_ left yourself open for that."

Tobi stared up at Dustin's soft brown eyes staring down at him. He could feel Dustin's hands holding him down and the weight of his body.

Dustin's cheeks were pink either from the fighting or possibly the position and the whole thing was making Tobi all hot and bothered, but getting an erection in these shorts was literally not an option and the pressure was actually starting to hurt. So, he cried, "Mercy! I give up!"

As Dustin sat back against a bike, Tobi caught his breath.

"So, Mr. Intuition who hides countless secrets," Tobi teased, "why does it seem like both Hunter and Kelly thought something was going on between us?"

"What do you mean?" Dustin asked, shifting his position.

"Don't play dumb," Tobi warned. "I know you well enough—"

"I didn't want to say anything," Dustin interrupted, "but I think your clothes make people think you're like... gay."

"Oh," Tobi replied. It was now or never, so he continued. "But I am gay."

Dustin studied Tobi for a moment, a surprised look on his face (as if he really hadn't known). "You're... _gay_?" he asked lamely.

"That's what I said," Tobi replied.

"Oh," Dustin said, looking down at his shoes as if they had suddenly become interesting. "That's cool. I mean...I don't care that you're gay and all."

"You don't... _care_?" Tobi repeated. "So, you're not...?"

"I like girls," Dustin quickly defended.

"Only girls?" Tobi asked. "What about... me? I thought we kind of hit it off."

"Are you... I mean, do you... like me like in 'like' me not just like me?" Dustin asked.

Tobi wasn't sure if he was ready to confess that he was in love, especially to a version of Dustin that he had only met recently. "I like you. Maybe we should just leave it at that," he said, adding. "but what about you?"

"I like you too," Dustin replied before catching himself. "I mean, like you, not necessarily like like you. I mean... You're fun and if I... not that I..." He became too flustered to speak.

Sheesh! And Tobi had thought dealing with a Dustin only programmed to fight had been hard. This Dustin was getting him nowhere, but he had an ace up his sleeve. Maybe Dustin just wasn't comfortable being the only gay/bi Power Ranger. "Hunter's gay... or bi. He's definitely into guys," Tobi finally blurted out.

"What?" Dustin asked, shocked. "How do you know?"

"When he grabbed me outside this store, he got boned," Tobi explained. "Then he keeps giving me funny looks and wanting to tie me up."

"Oh," was all Dustin said, still looking stunned.

"Not that I'd return his feelings," Tobi assured the gorgeous earth angel. "My heart belongs to... someone else." He looked over at Dustin, who still looked like he was having a hard time processing all the info. Maybe he was debating about whether to come out or not. Tobi discretely crossed his fingers behind his back.

"Hey, have you guys—" Tori began as she entered the back room. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" She looked at the two sitting on the floor, from Dustin's stunned face to Tobi's hopeful one.

"What's up, Tor?" Dustin greeted, suddenly standing as if nothing at all were going on.

"I'm just looking for Blake," Tori replied. "Have you seen him?"

"No," Dustin replied. "Ask Hunter."

"I did," Tori replied. "Well, I'll let you two get back to... work." She gave her brother a wink.

Dustin watched the door as Tori left and then looked back to Tobi. "I see what you mean, dude."

"Maybe they're sensing some sexual tension between us," Tobi suggested.

"Uh, uh," Dustin stuttered, turning bright red as he looked down toward Tobi's open legs and now fully exposed crotch.

Tobi thought he heard something snap as Dustin ran out of the room.

On the way out, he stumbled into Hunter. "He's all yours, dude!" Dustin shouted as he ran off.

Hunter turned back to the room with a puzzled look on his face until Tobi stood up and felt a draft.

"Gaaaaaah!" Hunter yelled, causing Tobi to look down.

"Ah!" Tobi gasped, realizing that the tiny gold shorts hadn't survived him getting an erection. He was now just wearing an open Hawaiian shirt and sandals. He was also still fully boned.

"You—you," Hunter managed to say. "Gah! Dustin! Ah! You! No!"

While Hunter tried to figure out how to speak, the others decided to come and investigate. Meanwhile, Tobi hid behind one of the bikes.

"What's going on?" Shane asked.

"He….he…" Hunter stuttered. "He tried to... He tried to rape Dustin."

"No I didn't!" Tobi defended against the accusing stares from the others.

"What happened?" Tori asked her brother.

"We were just playing around and... I got a little excited... if you know what I mean..." Tobi replied.

"I get the picture," Tori said, trying not to picture what was behind the bike.

"The next thing I knew," Tobi continued, "my shorts snapped off. I guess they couldn't handle the strain."

"I'll buy that," Shane agreed, looking down at the town shorts on the floor and wondering how they had stayed on Tobi was long as they had.

"Hunter, are you alright?" Tori asked, touching his shoulder.

"I'm... I'm going to go find Dustin," he replied, leaving quickly.

"Poor Hunter," Tori commented.

"Poor Hunter?" Tobi asked. "What about me? I'm over here without even so much as underwear on! Besides, what's so horribly traumatizing about seeing little—or should I say _big_ Tobi in all its glory?" He looked down.

"Dude, I, uh, have to go," Shane mumbled before leaving.

Tori sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll get you some pants," she said before leaving to ask Kelly if she had any old sportswear she wanted to loan out.

Once Tobi was dressed in some embarrassing pink sweatpants that Tori seemed to think was hilarious (and payback for what he did to Dustin and Hunter), the twins left to return to Ninja Ops.

* * *

On their way back, Tori took the opportunity to scold her brother. "You really should be more careful," she warned.

"It wasn't my fault," Tobi protested.

"And I suppose Cam forced you to wear those shorts?" she pointed out.

"Well, okay, yes it is kinda my fault," he admitted, "but we were really hitting it off. I think he was about to make a confession to me."

"And then he saw you naked and ran away," she added.

"Well, yeah, that was strange," he said.

"At least I don't have to worry about you taking advantage of Dustin being so trusting. He seems to know when a guy is about to exploit him." She smirked.

"I wasn't going to rape him!" Tobi defended. "I still don't know what's so scary about _the Tobinator_."

"The Tobin—Oh god," she said, realizing what he was referring to. "I guess it came as a shock."

"Maybe it was his burning desire that came as a shock," Tobi suggested.

Tori groaned. "I'm never going to live this down. Poor Dustin. I just hope Blake doesn't freak out over Hunter."

Tobi looked at his sister. "You really like Blake, don't you?"

"He's alright," she replied.

"I knew it!" he said. "I knew you weren't really _that_ different from my sister back in my dimension. Really, I don't think anyone's completely opposites here."

"Yeah right," Tori said. "And Marah and Kapri are going to become good guys."

"You never know," Tobi suggested. "I mean, Dustin isn't the airhead you think he is."

"You've known him for two days and you already know him better than me?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes!" he insisted before pondering. "I wonder if he was scared off because it gets so big."

Tori groaned.

* * *

The twins returned to Ninja Ops to find Cam busy as usual on his computer and Blake waiting patiently while holding something behind his back.

"Blake," Tori said in both relief and surprise. "Where have you been?"

"I was out training when I found these," Blake said, revealing a handful of blue flowers.

"They're beautiful," Tori gasped, taking them from him carefully. "What are they?"

"They're flowers," Blake answered, confused.

Tori stared at him for a moment. "I meant the type of flowers."

"Oh," Blake said, looking at the makeshift bouquet. "They're blue flowers. Maybe they're violets."

"Violets are... _violet_," Tori suggested. "Anyway, thank you Blake. You're not trying to make up for something you did today, are you?"

"Of course not!" he answered defensively. "I was just wondering if you'd want to go out to diner with me."

Tobi tried to give his sister a look that said, "He's playing you like a fool!" but she didn't seem to notice.

"I'd love to," Tori answered. "So, it's a... date?"

Blake smiled nervously. "Uh, sure. What could go wrong?"

As the two made their arrangements, Tobi walked over to see what Cam was up to. "So, how's Cyber Dustin coming along?" he asked.

Cam looked from Tori and Blake back to Tobi. "About as well as things are going with Tori, I think."

Tobi nervously glanced over at the two lovebirds. "Oh, that? That's... nothing. Just a fling," he quickly assured Cam, turning back to him. "When she's on the rebound, she'll be so desperate that—"

"On another topic," Cam interrupted, "I was looking for remains from Goldwinger, but there wasn't so much as a wing fragment left. It was a little suspicious actually."

"Oh," Tobi said, failing to hide his disappointment. "I thought you liked having me around."

Cam looked at Tobi's sad expression. "I do... sometimes," he answered. "You're like an annoying little brother. I'm just following my father's orders."

"I see," Tobi replied. "And I like you too. You're like a less cute version of my dimension's Dustin."

Cam frowned.

"I mean... not that you're not hot and all," Tobi quickly added. "I'm sure you're a total hunkmeister. Even though you're not my type, I'd still have sex with you and all, just as long as you're the bottom."

Cam looked from Tobi back to his sister and sighed, his expression becoming both flustered and very depressed.

Tobi noticed this and quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of Dustin, where is he?"

Cam gave Tobi a brief, exasperated look before turning to his computer and pressing a series of buttons to scan the area. "He's with Hunter at the track."

"Uh oh," Tobi thought outloud.

Tori must have heard the panic in her brother's voice because she walked over to him. Blake followed like a lost puppy. "What's wrong? She asked.

"I told Dustin that Hunter's gay," Tobi answered.

"You did what?" Tori asked.

"Is he really gay?" Cam asked.

Immediately, the three looked toward Blake. "What?" he said defensively. "He made me swear never to tell anyone. How did you figure out he's—Not that he'd totally gay. He likes girls. It's just that he has a huge crush on... Dustin."

"Aaaaaaahhhh!" Tobi screamed.

Once he was done, the others uncovered their ears.

"You didn't know that part?" Blake asked, worried now that he had revealed too much.

"I thought he had a crush on _me_," Tobi explained. "I just told Dustin about Hunter so that he wouldn't feel like he's the only gay or bi Power Ranger." He gasped. "Now I scared Dustin off with Tobi's Tower of Terror and sent him running to the open arms of Hunter!"

"I'm sure you're over reacting," Tori comforted.

Tobi actually began to cry and it was extremely embarrassing, so he ran out of the room. His failed attempt at seducing Dustin had totally backfired and possibly sent him straight into Hunter's preheated bed.

He went to the training room that he had slept in and sat on the edge of the cot. He thought about turning on the sparing program just to see the virtual Dustin again, but he knew it wouldn't help. So, why did he feel so upset? He thought about it and could only find one possible explanation: He truly was hopelessly in love with Waldo "Dustin" Brooks. He only hoped it wasn't in vain.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	7. Dustin in the Dark

_Author's Note: I'm glad you like the story, JDTB90, but if you're torn wanting Dustin/Hunter but sympathizing with Dustin/Tobi, this chapter probably won't help. It's all about Dustin/Tobi. I'll throw the Dustin/Hunter fans something in a future chapter. This story is, after all, from Tobi's perspective. Personally, it's my favorite chapter so far. So, on to the story..._

_Has anyone noticed that my chapter titles are starting to resemble Magic Tree House book titles?_

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**After some fighting foreplay, Tobi confesses that he's gay to Dustin and reveals that he thinks Hunter is too. He then accidentally exposes himself to Dustin and Hunter, who both freak out. Meanwhile, all the remains of Goldwinger are missing. Later, before Blake and Tori go on a date, Blake reveals that Hunter has a crush on Dustin. Since both Hunter and Dustin are at the track together, Tobi fears the worst, that he's scared Dustin off straight into Hunter's open arms. He then goes to his room and mopes...**_

**

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 7 (Dustin in the Dark)**

* * *

Tobi awoke with his head on the floor and the rest of his body twisted uncomfortably over the side of his cot in the training room at Ninja Ops. He had a habit of falling asleep in strange positions, so he awoke and wandered out to see what time it was.

As he walked, the events of a few hours earlier came back to him. Had it been a dream or had he really scared off Dustin (and possibly sent him to Hunter)?

When he entered Ninja Ops' main room, he wasn't surprised to see Cam sitting at his computer, but he was surprised by what was on the screen. It was a 3D model of Dustin and it was completely nude! As the model spun from his gorgeous backside to his front, Tobi gasped. Dustin was _hung_!

Cam fumbled nervously with his computer and the screen quickly changed to a map of Blue Bay Harbor. He spun around in his chair and sighed. "You scared me. I thought you were my father."

"Sorry," Tobi said, approaching Cam and leaning against his chair. "So, I see you're working on Cyber Dustin's _essentials_."

"Yeah," Cam said, embarrassed. "I feel kind of bad after all that's happened."

"So, I didn't dream scaring Dustin off," Tobi realized.

"No," Cam answered sympathetically.

"What time is it?" Tobi asked, looking for a clock somewhere on Cam's screen.

"It's a little after ten thirty," Cam answered. "You slept through the rest of the day. I guess you were pretty worn out."

Tobi's expression fell. "Yeah, guess so," he said. "So, did Dustin and—_or_ Hunter come back while I was out?"

"No, just Shane, but he's gone now," Cam explained.

"I guess my sister went on her date already," Tobi suggested.

"Yes, she did," Cam replied coldly.

Tobi put an arm around Cam's shoulder. "Listen, I'm sorry about Tori. I'll try harder to hook you guys up."

Cam looked at Tobi's arm nervously and then down to his pink sweatpants. "At least you finally put on some pants, but _pink_?"

Tobi removed his arm and looked down. "Yeah, I had a little wardrobe malfunction. That's how Dustin and Hunter saw my Tobinator, aka Tobi's Tower of Terror, aka the Eiffel Tober, aka—"

"I understand," Cam interrupted.

"Well, don't let me interrupt your work," Tobi said, stretching and buttoning his shirt, as he was a little chilly. "Where is Dustin, by the way?" he asked casually.

"He's at his house," Cam answered after glancing briefly at his screen. Tobi studied the location carefully.

"And... Hunter?" Tobi asked cautiously.

"They're not together, if that's what you're asking," Cam said. "Hunter is at his and Blake's place."

Tobi let out a sigh of relief before considering something. "I'm going to go out for a walk," he said, turning around.

"At a quarter to eleven at night?" Cam asked suspiciously.

"Well, yeah, I slept so long that I need a little fresh air before I can get back to sleep," he replied.

Cam sighed. "At least take this." He handed Tobi what looked like a mock-up morpher.

"Oh, wow!" Tobi cried, taking it and immediately attaching it to his left wrist. "Does this mean I'm a Power Ranger now? How do you activate it?"

"It's just a communicator in case you get into any trouble," Cam explained.

"Oh," Tobi replied, disappointed. "Well, I'll be going now," he said, leaving.

Once ha was gone, Cam pressed a button and watched the map on his screen track Tobi's movements.

* * *

Tobi had studied the map on Cam's screen when he was tracking where Dustin was and figured out that he lived in the same house in this dimension that he did in the other, so Tobi had come up with the lame excuse of needing fresh air in order to find Dustin. He needed to know some things and talking to Dustin seemed his only option.

As he walked out of the woods and through the dark, he thought he felt someone following him, so he spun around only to find a deserted sidewalk. A couple cars drove past him and he shook off the feeling.

Dustin's house was in a neighborhood on the other side of an undeveloped field with some construction equipment scattered here and here, so Tobi cut across the poorly lit field in order to reach Dustin before he turned in for the night.

"Tobi," a familiar voice suddenly called out to him.

He paused and turned to see a figure standing in the shadows. A chill ran up his spine and he fought the urge to run. "Who are you?" he called out, trying to sound tough.

"It's me, little brother," the figure replied.

He squinted through the darkness. "Tori?" he asked, slowly approaching the figure. "What are you doing here?"

"Nevermind that," she replied hastily. "I need to ask you some questions."

"Okay, I guess," he said, stopping in front of the figure. It definitely looked and sounded like his sister, but something...

"First, who's the mayor of Blue Bay Harbor?" she asked.

Tobi thought about that. "I don't know," he confessed. "I only got here a couple days ago after all."

"Got here from...?" she asked.

"From my dimension," he answered. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"One more question," she continued. "How many kelzaks does it take to change a lightbulb?"

"Tori!" Tobi gasped, suddenly running the two steps separating them and grabbing her tightly.

"Ease up," she scolded, glancing around nervously.

"I knew you hadn't been 'canceled out'," Tobi said gleefully. "So, have you been in this dimension the whole time?" he asked, pulling away briefly. "Why didn't you come try to find me?"

"I told you it's him," came a voice from behind Tobi. "Like, what are you waiting for?"

Tobi spun around to see a girl with bizarre black hair and what looked like bug eyes attached to her forehead.

"Fine! We'll do this the hard way," the girl said.

Suddenly about a dozen kelzaks appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Tobi. He just stood there for a moment until it clicked that kelzaks were mean in this dimension instead of timid and helpful.

He took up a fighting stance, but the kelzaks were a lot stronger than he had expected and they easily grabbed him by the arms and legs.

"Just hold him there," the girl instructed as she removed the communicator from Tobi's wrist.

"What are you doing?" Tobi asked, trying to fight against the kelzaks, but their grips felt like iron.

"Just bringing uncle a little present," she said, reaching for something on her own wrist.

Before she could transport them all away, something struck her and she tumbled to the ground. At first, Tobi assumed it was his sister coming to his rescue, but then he heard the distinct sound of her gasping. The next thing he knew, the kelzaks that had been holding him down were flying in all directions.

Not wanting to seem like the poor damsel in distress, Tobi quickly jointed the fight, punching and kicking the nearest kelzaks.

Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were all gone, including the strange girl and his sister. "Tori!" he called out, but he knew it was too late.

"No, it's me, dude," a voice answered.

He turned to see Dustin in his yellow Power Ranger suit with the visor on the front of his helmet open.

"You dropped this," Dustin said, holding out the morpher shaped communicator that Cam had given him.

"Thanks," Tobi muttered, taking the communicator and reattaching it to his wrist. "Did you see who was with the kelzaks?"

"Yeah," Dustin said. "I saw Marah and I assume the other was Kapri. But why were they after you?"

Tobi realized that Dustin hadn't seen the Tori from his dimension and he knew that—if she was working with someone who used kelzaks—she was probably working for Lothor, the sworn enemy of this dimension's Power Rangers. So, he decided to keep what he had seen to himself. "I don't know," he answered.

"Come on," Dustin said, looking around before morphing back into his regular clothes. "I live nearby. Dude, you're like so lucky I went out for a jog when I did."

"Yeah, thanks," Tobi replied, "but I had those kelzaks almost beat."

Dustin laughed. "You were about to use your Twilight Zone powers. Am I right?"

"Totally," Tobi agreed, following Dustin back to his house.

* * *

Once the two reached Dustin's house, Dustin snuck Tobi in quietly and escorted him to his room.

At first, Tobi thought Dustin must share his room with a little brother he had in this dimension or something. There were comic books and action figures scattered everywhere. Pizza boxes and dirty laundry littered the floor. On the walls there were a few motocross posters put up almost as an afterthought.

While Tobi looked around, Dustin used his morpher to call Cam. "Yeah, he's fine," Dustin assured Cam. "I still don't know why they were after him."

"I'll monitor the area," Cam replied from Dustin's wrist. "So, do you want us to come pick him up or do you want to swing by?"

"I'd feel... safer if I could stay with you," Tobi quickly chimed in, putting down a Power Ranger Time Force green ranger action figure.

Dustin looked at Tobi nervously. "I guess he'll be okay here," he told Cam.

"Alright," Cam said. "Let me know if you need reinforcements."

"Yeah, goodnight, dude," Dustin said before pressing a button and lowering his wrist.

"Nice room," Tobi commented.

Dustin looked around nervously. "Sorry it's a mess."

"No, it's cool," Tobi said, picking up a comic book with a picture of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers running in the center and Rita Repulsa's face hovering over them ominously. "So, the Power Rangers are always the good guys?" he asked.

"Not always," Dustin said, taking the comic from him and flipping through the pages while he sat on the edge of his unmade bed. "There were like evil rangers and dark rangers and all that stuff too."

Tobi walked over and sat on the edge of Dustin's bed next to him. He moved aside the yellow blanket and found a stuffed lion.

"Oh," Dustin said, embarrassed. He set the comic on his bed and took the stuffed animal. "His name's Leo," he explained, stroking the lion's mane. "It's short for Leonardo da Vinci."

"I see," was all Tobi said. This Dustin was so different, but yet there was something still so compelling about him. "So, I see you have at least some posters for motocross," Tobi said, looking around.

"Yeah," Dustin said, also looking around the room. "I wasn't always into motocross."

"But Power Rangers?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," he admitted. "I like a lot of sci fi too. Like, here, dude, check this out." He set down Leo and quickly bounced over to what was probably a desk underneath all the miscellaneous junk. He pulled out a small robot.

"Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!" the robot said, lighting up and flailing its arms wildly.

Tobi giggled before noticing something. "Pinky and the Brain!" he shouted, grabbing two toy mice.

"So, they had Pinky and the Brain back in your dimension?" Dustin asked.

"Of course!" Tobi replied. "So, which one did you relate to?"

"Brain, of course," Dustin answered, taking the figures from Tobi.

"Right," Tobi said, giving him a suspicious look. "So, how many people get to see your room?" he asked, looking around.

"Besides my family, just Shane and Tori," Dustin answered. "It's kind of like... embarrassing."

"Well, I like it!" Tobi said. He looked at Dustin, the light from his bedside lamp making his features exaggerated. His eyes shined back at him and his skin looked darker. His hair looked black as night.

Dustin looked away suddenly and Tobi realized he had been staring.

"I was just... wondering if you're okay," Tobi said slowly. "I'm sorry about... exposing myself."

Dustin blushed enough to be seen even in the room's single light. "Yeah, dude," he said, looking away. "I'm fine. It just..."

"What?" Tobi asked.

"I guess I like got a little freaked," he said.

Tobi thought of something. "So, you went to the track? Did you talk to Hunter?"

Dustin grimaced and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "I... I didn't ask if he... likes guys."

"Oh," Tobi replied, relief clear in his voice.

"I guess I just thought he'd tell me if he wanted me to know," Dustin continued. "It's not any of my business anyway."

"Oh," Tobi said again. "So, you're not attracted to him?"

Dustin looked at Tobi and stuttered. "I like him and I like you and I like both of you, but I don't know if I like like Hunter or you." He wiped his forehead nervously. "He's… and you're… but I don't think I like guys, like as in like like them."

"So, you've never even once wondered what it would be like to be with a guy?" Tobi asked, rubbing Dustin's shoulder suggestively and breathing on his neck.

Dustin looked at Tobi's arm nervously. "I... I..." he stuttered.

Tobi could tell that he was making him uncomfortable, so he lowered his arm and walked over and sat back down on his bed. When he looked up, it almost looked like Dustin was about to cry. "Dustin?" Tobi asked. "Are you okay?"

Dustin looked away quickly.

"Look, I'm really sorry," Tobi said, standing and walking back over to Dustin. He reached out and carefully put a hand on Dustin's side in an attempt to turn him and see if he really was crying.

Dustin shook off Tobi's touch. "I thought you were different," he mumbled.

"Different?" Tobi repeated. "I am different. I'm from another dimension and I'm gay, remember?"

"Not that," Dustin said, turning around so that his shining dark eyes met Tobi's. "You just want to use me, to take advantage of me. I'm not stupid. You like guys and you want me to like guys because you like me. Like like," he clarified.

"Dustin, I—" Tobi began, but Dustin just looked away. For some reason, this frustrated him. "Look, I know you're not stupid!" he shouted. "I've always known there was so much more to you and yes, I like you—like like you—and I want you to feel the same way, but I'm not going to jump you in your sleep. I love you too much for that." He stopped himself suddenly and covered his mouth.

"You... _love_ me?" Dustin asked, now surprise reflecting in his still wet eyes.

"Just forget I said that part," Tobi insisted. "The point is, I'm not going to take advantage of you."

Dustin's eyes fell to the floor and he walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry, dude," he said softly, picking up Leo. "It's just that... a lot of people I've cared about have tricked me and used me. I just get so sick of it."

"Oh," Tobi said, sitting down next to Dustin. He looked at Dustin and then let out a long sigh. "I feel like I owe you the whole truth," he began.

Dustin turned to him and watched with impatient eyes.

Tobi nervously poked Leo in his open mouth, but Dustin moved Leo's arm and made it slap Tobi's finger away. "So, yeah," Tobi said, removing his finger. "The truth is that I've had a crush on you since we were kids. I mean, I had a crush on the other Dustin. And then I came here and you were so different that I thought I must only still like you because I was just superficially attracted to you. I mean, you're hot in any dimension!"

Dustin blushed and fidgeted.

"But then I got to know this you and you're not that different," Tobi continued. "You're just geeky in a different kind of way. Sure, there are some details like your eating habits that are totally different, but all the differences are unimportant things. Everything that makes you _you_ is still the same. You're someone very special. It's kind of strange that I had to meet this different version of you to finally be able to admit to you and to myself that I love you. But you're just so… radiant… I don't know how to explain it." He paused, looking down. "And I feel... ashamed for trying to seduce you. Yes, I want to have sex with you." Now it was Tobi's turn to blush. "But, not if you don't want to. The truth is, if you flat out said you don't find me the least bit attractive and never want to so much as give each other hand jobs, I'll accept that. I'll just have to settle for a Cyber Dustin for those things, but I would never want to _use_ you. I would never hurt you."

Dustin sat there, speechless.

"So, I just left the door wide open for you to tell me I'm an ugly dude and you don't like dudes," Tobi added.

Dustin smiled. "You're not ugly, dude," he said softly.

Tobi's eyes widened. Was this really happening? He felt faint.

Dustin brushed Tobi's hair aside. "You'd be really cute... as a girl," he said, now smiling wide.

Tobi's expression changed in an instant and he grabbed Dustin's pillow and smacked him with it.

"Dude!" Dustin protested, blocking him. "I thought you didn't want to hurt me!"

Suddenly a noise came from outside Dustin's bedroom door.

"Shhh!" Dustin whispered. "Hide!" He reached over and turned off the light.

With the room in darkness, Tobi couldn't do much more than dive into a pile of trash in the corner of Dustin's room.

Dustin's door creaked open and a figure peaked inside. "Waldo, are you alight honey?" a caring voice asked.

"I'm fine," came Dustin's response from the darkness. "I guess I was just having a nightmare."

"I thought they had went away," his mother's voice said with concern. "Do you want me to plug in your old nightlight?"

"No!" Dustin said quickly. "I'm fine, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey. I love you."

"I love you too," Dustin said before the door closed.

"So, you love a girl, huh?" Tobi accused.

"Dude, she's my mom!" Dustin defended.

"At least you know that you can love someone and not want to trick them or use them," Tobi pointed out.

Dustin was quiet for a moment.

Tobi climbed out of his hiding place and stumbled in the dark.

"You okay?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah," Tobi said, sitting on the floor.

Dustin was quiet for a while and Tobi wondered if he had drifted off to sleep. He briefly thought about climbing into bed with him, but then figured he'd freak out when he woke up and accuse Tobi of trying to take advantage of him. Instead, he settled onto the floor.

He heard Dustin turn over and could feel him watching him through the darkness.

"I'm glad we're... friends," Tobi said quietly, just in case Dustin was asleep.

"So am I, Twilight Zone Tobi," Dustin replied.

Tobi smiled and tried to get comfortable.

"And," Dustin added, "if I were into guys, I'd defiantly like like you. Goodnight."

Tobi's heart leapt out of his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

_

* * *

Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it._

**ATTENTION: I've created a new poll. At the top left of this page, click on ****Rogue Ranger****. My profile will load. At the top of that page it has a poll that asks: **_**Who should Dustin end up with? **_**Click ****Vote Now****! Thanks!**


	8. Hunter Has A Heart

_Author's Note: Okay, okay. For those Hunter fans out there, this one's for you..._

_Tobi: "Hey! What about __my__ fans?"_

_Me: "I'm your fan!"_

_Tobi: "Of course you are! You and your perverse imagination made me up!"_

_Me: "Oh. Well, on with the story then..."_

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi awakens and finds Cam working on Cyber Dustin. When Tobi says he needs "fresh air," Cam gives him a communicator shaped like a morpher. On the way to Dustin's house, Tobi encounters his sister from his dimension, but it turns into a trap when Marah tries to capture him. Dustin comes to the rescue, but the doesn't see the other Tori and Tobi decides to keep their meeting a secret. Back at Dustin's house, the two bond in his room. Dustin says he's tired of being used and Tobi confesses that he loves Dustin. Before the two fall asleep, Dustin says, "If I were into guys, I'd definitely like like you. Goodnight."**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 8 (Hunter Has A Heart)**

* * *

A scraping noise woke Tobi in the early hours of the morning. He looked around at the mess that was Dustin's room until his eyes fell on Dustin's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful. It was like a dream being there with him.

He had to fight the urge to brush Dustin's hair or give his adorable face a quick kiss or to just stand there and take care of his morning wood while watching him sleep.

Before Tobi could do any of those things, a scraping noise came from the window. He walked over and pushed aside the curtains to reveal Hunter trying to pry open the glass.

Tobi unlocked the window and slid it partially open. "What are you doing?" he whispered, trying not to disturb Dustin.

Hunter glared at Tobi with contempt in his eyes. "He's so trusting and _caring_ and you just twist that for your own gain," he accused. "Sure, maybe he enjoyed the sex because who doesn't like sex? I'm sure you made a good _bottom_. But he _trusted_ you and you... you..."

"We didn't have sex," Tobi whispered, glancing back at Dustin to make sure he hadn't been disturbed. "He's not into guys. I slept on the floor."

"I thought..." Hunter trailed off.

Tobi took one more glance at slumbering Dustin before opening the window and climbing out. He closed the window behind him. "We need to talk," he said, staring at Hunter.

"About what?" he asked.

"Duh, what do you think?" Tobi said as he began to circle Hunter. "I know you have a crush on Dustin, so what's going on between _us_?"

"What are you talking about?" Hunter asked, looking like he was about to get into a fighting stance.

"First, you get boned from manhandling me outside Storm Chargers," Tobi reminded him.

"Huh?" Hunter said before understanding. "Like when I told Dustin to take off his shirt?"

"Oh," Tobi realized. "Well, what about all the weird looks you keep giving me?"

"Like whenever you stare at Dustin all googly eyed?" he asked.

"But what about wanting to tie me up then?" Tobi asked.

"Oh, that," Hunter said, looking annoyed. "I don't _trust_ you, man."

"And obviously you don't _like_ me either," Tobi concluded.

Hunter frowned and thought for a moment. "No, I don't."

Then everything came together in Tobi's mind. "You're jealous of me," he realized.

"No way am I jealous of _you_," Hunter defended.

"I get it," Tobi said. "Here you've had the hots for Dustin and then I come along and suddenly I'm his new best buddy. I'm the new guy who he likes and trusts even when no one else—including you—trusts me."

"I was the new guy he trusted when no one else did," Hunter mumbled.

"What?" Tobi asked.

Hunter leaned against the side of the house. "After Blake and me were controlled by Lothor, only Dustin trusted us. Only he... _believed_."

Tobi folded his arms and joined Hunter along the side of the house. "He's not going to stop being your friend, you know," Tobi said. "He can have a bunch of friends."

"I just..." Hunter began before looking away. "I wanted us to be... _more_."

"Join the club," Tobi muttered. "I told Dustin that I... that I love him." He covered his face in embarrassment.

"You did _what_!" Hunter growled.

"I told the truth, okay?" Tobi replied, lowering his hand. "The whole truth and he took it okay... Well, after he was sure I wasn't going to trick him or use him."

Hunter looked at Tobi and then down to the grass.

"You should tell him how you feel," Tobi suggested, looking over at Hunter. "Maybe holding it in is what's making you act so jealous and overprotective."

Hunter gave him a sharp glance. "That's how I've been acting?" he asked.

Tobi looked at Hunter's self conscious expression. "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot," he said, pushing off the side of the house. "Dustin says he doesn't like guys the way you and I do, so there's no reason for us to be rivals. Cut the 'Let's tie him up' and I'll try not to monopolize Dustin's time."

Hunter looked like he was thinking. "Why did you come here last night?" he asked quietly.

"Oh," Tobi thought. "I needed to know how he felt about you actually."

"Me?' Hunter looked confused.

"See, after I told Dustin that I thought you were gay because of the erection, the looks and what I thought was a bondage fetish," Tobi explained, "he went to the track with you and I thought that he and you might have..." He cringed. "...ended up together."

Hunter couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Tobi asked defensively.

"You were jealous of me and Dustin and I was jealous of you and Dustin," he explained. "Man, this is ridiculous."

"Tell me about it!" Tobi agreed. "But I guess neither of us is going to get into his pants."

Hunter frowned. "You're sure he's totally straight?" he asked. "Or, you're just not his type?"

"Well, he said he doesn't 'like like' guys," Tobi quoted. "With Dustin, that's about as much of a yes as you're gonna get. Besides," he added with a smirk, "if he was going to go gay, he'd go for the dude with the biggest equipment." He held his still erect crotch conspicuously.

"Yeah right, midget," Hunter replied.

"Hey!" Tobi argued. "If it weren't bigger than yours, then you wouldn't have practically fainted from seeing it."

"It just looked big because you're so short," Hunter justified.

"You're so full of it!" Tobi accused, standing on his toes and blowing in Hunter's face.

"More of it than you, that's for sure," Hunter mocked.

"That doesn't even make sense. Here," he said, pulling down his pink sweatpants, "let's settle this here and now!" Since Hunter had already seen him in all his glory, he didn't feel that embarrassed about exposing himself now. That didn't stop his cheeks from turning bright red though. That is, the cheeks on his face. His other exposed cheeks were as white as snow.

"Ah!" Hunter gasped. "What are you doing?"

"See!" Tobi said. "_That_ reaction! You feel so small now, don't you?"

"I am _not_ small!" Hunter insisted.

"Then prove it," Tobi taunted.

"I'm not pulling down my pants, man," Hunter said.

"You're obviously boned," Tobi pointed out. "But it does look a _little_ on the _small_ side."

"Fine," Hunter huffed, unzipping his jeans. "There! See?"

Tobi studied Hunter's thunder saber. He positioned himself against the older blonde.

"What are you doing!" Hunter cried.

"It's actually the same size as mine," Tobi said, disappointed.

"What?" Hunter replied, inspecting. "Here, let me see." He grabbed Tobi forcefully. "Mine's wider and I think a little longer."

"You're trying to stretch it!" Tobi insisted. "Here!" He slapped Hunter's hand away and grabbed both of their equipment.

"Hey!" Hunter protested.

Just then, they heard a window open.

They turned to see Dustin staring at them with half sleepy, half horrified eyes.

"It's not what it looks like!" Tobi defended, letting go of his grip.

"Dudes," Dustin muttered, shaking his head and closing the window.

"Look what you did!" Hunter complained, zipping back up. "Now he probably thinks you and me are..." He gagged dramatically.

"Oh, please!" Tobi moaned. "Like I'd ever go for you."

"Really?" Hunter accused. "I think you were getting off on copping a feel."

"I was not!" Tobi argued. "But, speaking of getting off, I've never gone a morning yet where I didn't... relieve myself. I think you could use some relief too." He gestured toward Hunter's crotch.

"The only way I'm getting off with another guy is if it's with Dustin," Hunter said.

"I don't think Dustin would go for a tree way as his first mansex experience, so I guess you're not getting any." He then turned way from Hunter and began masturbating.

"What are... Gah!" Hunter cried.

Tobi just moaned and grunted.

Hunter wanted to leave, but found himself not going anywhere.

Just then, the window opened again. "Could you dudes at least keep it do—" Splat! Something wet hit Dustin's face and, as he examined it and looked over at Tobi, he knew what it was. Then he fainted.

* * *

"Do you think he needs mouth to mouth?" Tobi asked as he helped Hunter drag Dustin over to his bed.

"Keep your face, your hands and every other part of you to yourself," Hunter warned before stroking Dustin's hair.

"Hey!" Tobi protested.

"I'm just trying to wake him," Hunter justified. "Dustin," he whispered, "are you alright?" When Dustin didn't respond, he told Tobi to find something to clean off Dustin's face with.

"Do you suppose he'd mind if I borrow a pair of his shorts?" Tobi asked, grabbing a pair of used yellow shorts from the floor. "I'm not a big fan of pink." He gestured toward his sweatpants.

"I don't see how he could notice anything missing in this mess," Hunter commented. "What a pig sty!"

"Yeah, but _so_ Dustin, right?" Tobi said, removing his pink sweatpants and figuring that he might as well use them to wipe Dustin's face.

As Tobi wiped his face, Dustin began to awaken. Both Tobi and Hunter smiled down at him.

"Wha—What?" Dustin said, shoving them both away and causing them to tumble to the floor. He looked at his t-shirt and boxers suspiciously. "Did you...?" he asked, staring at Tobi's naked body from the waist down.

"No, we didn't do anything to you, I swear," Hunter said with compassion in his voice.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, slipping on Dustin's shorts. "You don't mind if I borrow these, do you? They were just lying with your dirty clothes."

"Uh, no," Dustin said slowly, blinking. He ran his hand through his bed hair nervously. "So, you two really are... gay," he said, "but... with each other?"

"No!" both shouted at once.

"I only care about you," Tobi reminded him.

Hunter looked embarrassed, but managed to get out, "Me too. I... I care about you, Dustin."

"Well, I love him, so there," Tobi said, turning to Hunter.

"What did you think I felt?" Hunter asked. "I love him too!"

They both looked from each other back to Dustin with bright red faces.

"You're both in love with me?" Dustin asked.

"I guess so," Tobi answered, looking at an extremely embarrassed Hunter.

"And you both want to like have sex with me?" Dustin asked.

"Totally!" Tobi answered while Hunter nodded.

Dustin's eyes glazed over for a moment before he sat up. "I need—I like need to get dressed and stuff."

Tobi and Hunter looked at each other.

"Of course," Tobi said, standing.

"Yeah, we'll meet you at Storm Chargers," Hunter added.

"Sure, dudes," Dustin said with a wary look.

Tobi and Hunter let themselves back out the window.

"Isn't that bed hair just adorable?" Tobi gushed.

"Yeah," Hunter said with a sigh before becoming serious again. "Are we... _bonding_?"

"I guess so," Tobi agreed. "Too bad we couldn't just fall for each other and save ourselves a lot of heartache."

"Aint gonna happen," Hunter stated.

"Good," Tobi said. "I'd rather a straight Dustin than settling for you any day."

"That's cold, man," Hunter protested.

"Love hurts," Tobi replied. "Now let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"

* * *

As the two walked toward a local fast food restaurant, a flash filled the sky.

Instinctively, Hunter reached for his morpher and stood ready to attack or morph if necessary. Both he and Tobi looked around, but the only thing that had appeared was an envelope.

The envelope fluttered down from the sky until it landed at Tobi's feet.

"Careful," Hunter warned as Tobi reached down and picked up the letter.

"Look," Tobi said, turning the envelope to reveal his name, "it's addressed to me."

"It could be a trap," Hunter suggested.

"It's a letter," Tobi said flatly. "It could be from my dimension."

"And how did it get here?" Hunter asked skeptically.

"How did _I_ get here?" Tobi asked.

"I see your point," Hunter conceded, "but if you blow up, don't come complaining to me!" He crossed his arms and waited while Tobi opened the envelope.

Inside the envelope was a short letter that read:

_Tobi,_

_Meet me behind the fountain at the park in three hours._

_-Tori_

_(your __real__ twin sister)_

_P.S. Don't tell anyone or I'll be in __danger__._

Hunter leaned toward Tobi, but Tobi quickly blocked his view of the letter. "It's addressed to _me_, remember?" Tobi said.

"So, you're not going to tell me what it says?" Hunter asked.

"Nope," Tobi answered, folding the note and putting it in the pocket of Dustin's shorts.

"I hope it doesn't tell you, 'Come alone to such and such a place,'" Hunter said.

Tobi gave him a quick, shocked expression before saying, "No. I would never do something so dangerous."

"And stupid," Hunter added.

"Right," Tobi replied. "So, what time is it now anyway?"

"About seven thirty," Hunter answered. "Pretty early for Dustin, I'm sure."

"Me too," Tobi grumbled.

* * *

After getting a bite to eat, the two headed for Storm Chargers in time to find Kelly opening the place.

"You're here early," she commented. "It's good to see you're feeling better."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I am," Hunter replied.

"Is your friend going to be helping out again today?" she asked, looking at Tobi.

"My friend?" Hunter repeated, confused.

Tobi jabbed him with his elbow. "Yeah, I'll do what I can to help out," he told Kelly.

"Great!" she beamed, letting the two into the store with her. "So, when can I expect Dustin to show up?"

"I'm here!" came Dustin's voice.

"Wow, Dustin," Kelly said. "This is early for you."

He gave her a sheepish grin and fidgeted. "So, what needs to be done?" he asked.

As she showed the three the work to be completed, Tobi couldn't help but think that Dustin seemed to be taking everything in stride. It was a refreshing change.

* * *

Shortly after they began their work, Tori, Blake and Shane showed up.

"What's up, dudes?" Shane greeted Hunter and Dustin.

"Do I get a 'what's up'?" Tobi asked.

"Sure," Shane agreed. "What's up?"

"Not me! I took care of that already!" Tobi said with a giggle.

"Oh man!" Shane said, trying to decide if the joke was in such bad taste that he shouldn't be laughing. "That's the last time I ask you that!"

"So, I guess you're feeling better?" Tori asked her brother.

"Yeah, I am," Tobi replied.

She leaned toward him and whispered. "Cam said you spent the night at Dustin's last night. He also says that Hunter managed to get that bit of info out of him somehow."

"It's cool," he whispered back. "I slept on the floor and I think Hunter and me are on better terms now."

"That's good to hear," she replied, glancing over at Hunter as he worked. "He seems a lot... calmer now."

"It comes with releasing all the sexual tension," Tobi explained. "Oh, speaking of sexual tension... Did you guys... do it after your date last night?"

"No!" Tori said too loudly before lowering her voice again. "No," she whispered this time. "He really wanted to, but..."

"Don't you want to have sex with him?" Tobi asked.

"Yes, I do," she admitted, "but sex shouldn't be rushed into?"

"Why not?" he asked before thinking of something. "So, what would Blake have to do to get you so worked up that you'd submit to him?"

Tori thought for a moment. "Soft kisses and a nice massage followed by—Wait, this doesn't have anything to do with me, does it? You're trying to get Dustin into bed."

"I would never force him, but..." Tobi trailed off. "If he was really worked up..."

"What about Hunter?" she asked.

"What he doesn't know, won't kill him," he answered with a grin.

"Stay out of trouble," she warned before joining the others.

* * *

After a while of helping out by handing parts and tools here or there, Tobi looked at the clock. It read 10:04. That gave him about a half an hour to rendezvous with his sister. That is, if it wasn't a trap...

"I've been doing this for _hours_," Tobi complained. "I'm gonna take a break."

"It's only been an hour, dude," Dustin pointed out.

"Wouldn't want to overwork yourself," Hunter joked sarcastically.

"Exactly," Tobi replied, completely missing the sarcasm. "I'll be back in a bit!"

"Well, he doesn't actually work here," Tori pointed out as Dustin looked disappointed.

* * *

Tobi looked around quickly before opening a door that he thought led to the back ally of Storm Chargers. Instead, he found himself in a dark closet. He stumbled, falling into someone.

"I knew you'd come," a familiar male voice said as a hand reached up and stroked his long hair.

Before Tobi could remember how to speak, a hand on his back forced him closer until... his lips met those of the person in the dark.

* * *

**_To be continued..._**

**

* * *

ATTENTION: I've created a new poll. At the top left of this page, click on ****Rogue Ranger****. My profile will load. At the top of that page it has a poll that asks: **_**Who should Dustin end up with? **_**Click ****Vote Now****! Thanks!**


	9. Kisses Make Your Day Not You Gay, Right?

_Author's Note: Thanks ClubClover for your enthusiasm. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Feel free to make suggestions. __Also__..._

**

* * *

ATTENTION: I've created a new poll. At the top left of this page, click on Rogue Ranger. My profile will load. At the top of that page it has a poll that asks: **_**Who should Dustin end up with? **_**Click Vote Now! Thanks! (As of the moment I'm writing this, it's tied, so...)**

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi confronts Hunter about his feelings and Hunter reveals his jealousy toward Tobi. They share a laugh over the fact that they were both jealous over the other. Dustin awakens to find Tobi and Hunter comparing "equipment" sizes. He passes out after Tobi's masturbation session sprays him in the face. After Dustin awakens, Hunter tells Dustin he's also in love with him (in addition to Tobi loving Dustin). Dustin doesn't freak out, but needs some time. Later, Tobi receives a letter from his dimension's version of his sister telling him to secretly meet her at the park. Before he can sneak out to meet her, though, he has a run-in with an unknown male in a dark closet…**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 9 (Kisses Make Your Day, Not You Gay, Right?)**

* * *

Having opened the wrong door in an attempt to leave Storm Chargers, Tobi found himself in a dark closet being pulled in for a kiss. Their lips wrestled together until Tobi instinctively opened his mouth and their tongues met. It was so intense that he didn't stop to really consider what he was doing in the dark with some unseen male. He just pressed his body tightly against the figure, their excited midsections meeting...

Gasp! The figure pulled back quickly and fumbled around. Suddenly a light filled the small room.

"Blake?" Tobi realized.

"Tobi!" Blake cried in horror. "I—I thought you were Tori!"

"Oh," Tobi said, consciously willing his erection to go down. He had just been making out with his sister's boyfriend. That defiantly wasn't something he saw coming.

Blake was still red cheeked and in shock. "Don't mention this to Tori," he pleaded.

"No problem," Tobi assured him. "My lips are sealed. Speaking of which, do I really kiss like my sister because you didn't realize it was me until our throbbing—"

"Maybe, maybe," he interrupted, closing his eyes and frowning. "Actually, better. Don't tell her I said that."

"Like I said, my soft, supple, wet lips are sealed," Tobi teased him before leaving the closet with a completely mortified Blake trapped inside.

Once Tobi had found the real back exit of Storm Chargers, he raced off to make his appointment. Sure, it could easily have been a trick, but he owed it to his sister to give her a second chance. She meant more to him than anyone else in this new dimension (except for Dustin of course).

But, as he made his way to the park, he realized that he had just had his first real kiss and it had been with Blake (he didn't count kissing Mike Ferrera on the cheek in third grade). Blake was a good kisser and not bad looking. Tobi could definitely see what his sister saw in him, but he was no Dustin, that's for sure.

* * *

Before he could start thinking too much about what it would be like to kiss Dustin's tender lips, he arrived at the fountain in the park. He looked around, but didn't see his sister.

"Pst!" a voice whispered from a nearby tree. "Over here."

Tobi cautiously approached the tree. "Tori?" he asked.

"Shhh," the voice warned. "It figures you'd be late. When are you not? Anyway, I don't have much time."

Tobi walked around the tree but couldn't spot his sister.

"Up here," she whispered.

He looked up and saw her hiding in the branches of the tree. "Why are you up there?" he asked.

"Shut up and listen," she whispered quickly. "Lothor lives in space in this dimension and he's still a loser but not a pushover. He's trying to open some kind of a rift between our dimension and this one so that he can get the Power Rangers from our dimension to kick the asses of the Power Rangers in this dimension."

"But this dimension's you helped our dimension's mayor Lothor to defeat the Power Rangers back in our dimension," Tobi explained.

Tori was quiet for a moment before jumping down from the tree and grabbing Tobi by the shoulders. "Are you sure about that, Tobi?" she asked intensely.

"Yeah," he answered, confused. "Why?"

She looked off in the distance, deep in thought, before lowering her arms. "Listen up," she said, turning back to him. "I need you to do me a really big favor."

"Anything," Tobi replied without thinking.

She smiled before looking around nervously. "I need you to switch my morpher with the other Tori's," she said, removing her own morpher from her wrist. "Meet me here at the same time tomorrow with the other one."

"Why?" Tobi asked.

"Mine doesn't work here for some reason," she replied, forcing the morpher into Tobi's hands.

"So, if Lothor did somehow free the other Power Rangers and bring them here, they wouldn't be able to morph either?" Tobi asked.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, little brother," she warned, still looking around. "Now, I have to go before I'm missed." She reached for something in her hand.

"But, wait, why are you working for Lo—" he began, but it was too late. The other Tori was gone.

* * *

Tobi returned to Storm Chargers confused and uncertain. Should he follow his real sister's request, even if it meant tricking this dimension's version of her? It didn't help that the first person he ran into was his sister from this dimension.

"Are you okay?" Tori asked, concern in her voice.

Tobi looked up. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled.

She gave him a skeptical look, but he smiled and quickly returned to the back room of Storm Chargers.

"Hey guys," he greeted Hunter and Dustin.

"Hunter missed you, dude," Dustin said with an inviting smile.

"What?" Hunter replied. "When did I say I missed him?"

"Chill, dude," Dustin said with a wave of his arms. "I'm just like saying you couldn't stop talking about him."

"I was only talking about him because _you_ brought him up," Hunter defended.

Tobi's eyes widened. "Dustin, did you really miss me?"

"Yeah," Dustin admitted, which caused Hunter to begin to protest until he added, "but Hunter's good company too." He grinned mischievously.

"Well, yeah," Tobi replied, not sure how to feel. "Sorry I took so long but I..." He trailed off as he tried to think of a legitimate excuse.

"Yeah, I know what kept you," Hunter said with a chuckle.

"What!" both Tobi and Dustin asked in unison.

"You missed a spot," Hunter told Dustin, gesturing to his bike.

How did he know? "I, uh," Tobi stuttered nervously. "I mean, I don't know if I'll go through with it," he defended quickly. "How did you find out about our secret meeting?" He figured he must not have kept the letter hidden well enough and Hunter read it and then followed him.

"Wait," Hunter began. "Go through with what? I thought it was a one time thing."

"We're supposed to meet again tomorrow," Tobi reluctantly admitted, realizing he had no choice but to betray his real sister now. The guilt was burning him up inside, but he would have felt guilty no matter which Tori he betrayed.

"But he said it was an accident," Hunter said, confused.

"He?" Tobi asked, but it was drown out by Dustin demanding to know what they were talking about.

Hunter looked into Dustin's wide, confused eyes. "Dustin, can you promise to keep a secret?"

"What's one more, I guess?" he shrugged.

Hunter lowered his voice. "Blake made out with Tobi in the storage closet."

Dustin literally fell over from the shock.

Suddenly Tobi realized that Hunter had been talking about his "meeting" with Blake the whole time. His secret rendezvous was still safe. Despite how uncomfortable and red cheeked the topic made him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

"Blake told me it was an accident," Hunter continued to divulge, "that he thought Tobi was Tori." He turned toward Tobi. "But now it turns out he's scheduled another makeout session for tomorrow. Unbelievable." He shook his head. "My own brother and he never told me."

"Hold up, dudes," Dustin said, waving his hands for Hunter to stop. "You're saying Blake is like... gay too?" he looked terrified. "Everyone's suddenly turning gay?"

"Hey!" Tobi protested. "I've always been gay!"

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "It's not the kind of thing that develops... or goes away." He looked down for a moment, leaving Tobi to wonder if Hunter had tried to make his feelings go away at some point.

The door to the back room was open, so Tobi could hear Tori and Blake greet each other with "Hey"s.

Dustin's eyes widened at the sound and he leaned back so that he could watch the exchange.

Tobi stuck his head out to see what was interesting Dustin so much.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Tori asked Blake.

At that moment, Blake's eyes met Tobi's and he stuttered nervously, "Ah, um, nowhere."

"Do you want to go riding after work maybe?" Tori asked in a friendly tone.

Blake consciously looked anywhere but at Tobi. "Nah, I got lots of work to do and, uh, I'll just... I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah," Tori replied and, even thought she was facing away from Tobi, he could hear the disappointment in her voice.

Blake rushed out of the store, leaving a very confused and jilted Tori behind.

"Bye," Tori mumbled, mostly to herself, since Blake was already gone.

Dustin looked overwhelmed.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, taking a seat between Dustin and Hunter.

"It's true," Dustin said in a barely audible voice. "He turned gay."

Both Hunter and Tobi looked at the expression on Dustin's face and had the same urge to comfort him.

"No one can turn gay," Tobi argued. "Unless of course you're thinking of turning gay," he added.

Hunter jabbed Tobi in the ribs.

"What I mean is that I don't think Blake's gay," Tobi continued before realizing, "though he did say he liked kissing me more than Tori."

Dustin gave him a wide-eyed look. It was adorable.

"But he could have been kissing anyone," Tobi added. "I'm sure he would have much rather been kissing you."

"Me?" Dustin choked out.

"Well, I can only guess," Tobi theorized. "You're a lot cuter than me." He paused. "I can't believe I had my first real kiss with Blake." He leaned toward Dustin's face and stared deep into his big chocolate caramel eyes. "I would much rather have had it with you. I'm sure you're a great kisser. Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

Dustin fidgeted nervously.

"It's really enjoyable," Tobi said seductively, leaning closer. "Blake doesn't even like me that much and he enjoyed it because a kiss is a kiss, regardless of gender. Soft, tender lips parting, pressing, touching..." By this point, Tobi was breathing heavily on Dustin's face.

For a moment, Tobi saw Dustin's eyelids flutter and his mouth open just enough to give him a signal to continue. Tobi leaned forward and pressed his lips against Dustin's. They were really hot for some reason, like they were on fire.

Then the moment was over. Hunter was pulling him back, growling, and Dustin was shaking, his eyes wide, mouth hanging open and his cheeks flushed.

"What are you doing!" Hunter yelled.

"Dustin, I'm sorry," Tobi apologized, pushing Hunter off him. "I'm not trying to take advantage of you. I just thought... I thought you were giving me signals that... I'm sorry, okay?"

Dustin still sat there speechless.

"Dustin?" Tobi asked, his eyes starting to water. "I'm sorry."

Dustin just stared back at him with that same look that he had when they first met, a look like he had never seen Tobi before and didn't know who he was. It pierced Tobi's heart.

Tobi sniffled and blinked away a few tears before wiping his face. Instinctively, he got up to leave.

"I'm okay, TZT," Dustin finally said, looking up at Tobi. "I know you like got carried away."

Tobi turned back to Dustin, a relieved smile on his face.

Dustin ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Anyone else hungry?"

Hunter and Tobi exchanged surprised looks. "Yeah," they both agreed.

"Hey, guys," Shane greeted the three as they headed for the exit. "What's u—" He stopped himself when his eyes met Tobi's. "What's... happening?" he asked.

"Hey, Shane," Dustin greeted. "We're going out to eat. You wanna come?"

"Sorry, bro, but I'm putting a new surface on my board," Shane explained. "The traction is totally worn down."

"Oh," Hunter said, realizing something. He walked over to Kelly. "Hey, Kel, did those gloves come in yet?"

"We haven't received our shipment yet today," she replied. "Maybe later."

"Cool," he said. "And we're going out to get a bite to eat. We'll be back in a bit."

"Okay, I guess," she agreed. "I'm only your boss."

"Great!" Hunter replied before saying "bye" and leaving.

She shook her head.

* * *

"I'm still really sorry, Dustin," Tobi said while the three walked.

"I said it's okay, dude," Dustin assured him.

"I hope Tobi didn't freak you out too much," Hunter chimed in. "He has a tendency of doing that." He looked at Tobi, ready to glare at him, but the look in Tobi's eyes made him change his mind. "I guess he doesn't mean to," Hunter conceded.

Tobi gave him a weak smile.

"It wasn't that horrible," Dustin said. "TZT has girl lips."

"Hey!" Tobi protested.

"I think that was a compliment," Hunter told him.

"Oh," Tobi said. "So, you enjoyed it then?"

Dustin laughed nervously. "Look! McDonalds!" he said, pointing.

"Let me guess," Hunter said, joking. "You want a Happy Meal."

Dustin smiled sheepishly. "They have these little bikes that you pull back and then they go vroom and flip up on like one wheel and go..." He moved his body around like he was riding a motorcycle on just the back wheel to illustrate.

Both Hunter and Tobi laughed at Dustin's antics.

* * *

Later, after ordering, the three ate and raced their little toy motorcycles across the table, crashing them into each other intentionally and laughing.

"I had fun," Dustin said, patting his full stomach. "It really doesn't matter that you dudes are gay at all."

"I guess we'll take that as a compliment," Hunter said, grinning. "Hey, anyone else need to piss? I need to go like a race horse after that soda."

"I'm good," Tobi replied.

"Yeah, I could go like a fire hose putting out a fire," Dustin said, getting up.

"Where do you guys come up with these analogies?" Tobi asked.

"What analogies, dude?" Dustin asked.

Tobi shook his head. "Nevermind. Just hurry up or I'll leave without you guys."

Once the two were gone, Tobi picked up Dustin's Happy Meal toy. Actually, it was Hunter's, since Hunter had gotten the yellow bike and Dustin a blue one and Tobi red. So, technically, Tobi ended up with Dustin's.

It was strange how any little thing that belonged to Dustin or even that Dustin just briefly touched somehow made it special and meaningful to Tobi. Of course, nothing compared to touching Dustin himself. He closed his eyes and remembered his brief encounter with Dustin's lips. They had felt so soft and so very hot.

He opened his eyes to see Dustin and Hunter returning, both with bright red cheeks.

"What happened?" Tobi asked hastily.

"Nothing," Hunter muttered, trying to fight off a smile.

Tobi looked at Dustin, who was putting on a false innocent face (which he was actually good at, unlike Hunter).

"Spill it, now!" Tobi demanded.

Dustin grinned then shrugged. "I just wondered if Hunter... If he would be any different... in like kissing."

Tobi gasped. "You kissed Hunter!" he shouted loud enough for even people outside McDonalds to hear.

Dustin looked around nervously.

"Shhh," Hunter warned. "I just gave him a peck on the lips. It was nothing."

Tobi huffed. "It was not nothing!" Tobi insisted.

"How the tables have turned," Hunter said with a grin.

Tobi turned to Dustin. "So...?" he asked.

"So, what?' Dustin asked back.

"Don't play dumb," Tobi accused. "Who was the better kisser?"

Dustin very dramatically furrowed up his brow and cocked his head to the side in thought.

"You like teasing us, don't you?" Hunter laughed. "You know we both like you." He shook his head.

"Maybe," Dustin teased. "I'll let you know after I kiss a girl."

"Wait, you haven't kissed a girl?" Tobi asked, shocked.

"What?" Dustin asked nervously. "Did I say that? I... I like kissed girls and stuff."

"You haven't, have you?" Hunter realized, equally shocked.

Dustin's head fell. "No, dudes, I haven't."

"Which means, you're a virgin too," Hunter realized outloud.

Dustin looked extremely embarrassed.

"Don't worry," Tobi comforted. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin. I'm a virgin. I guess I want my first time to be... special." He cringed as he realized he had unknowingly been following his sister's advice about not rushing into sex. "Not that I've really had the opportunity in front of me to say yes or no to," he added.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed.

Hunter looked between Tobi and Dustin. "Now I feel ashamed not to be a virgin."

"Who did you do it with, dude?" Dustin asked.

Hunter sighed. "It was my Sophomore year of High School. She and I had been going out for a while."

"Wait a minute," Tobi interrupted. "She?"

"I like girls too, you know," Hunter reminded him.

"Oh," Tobi replied. "That must be weird, liking girls and all."

Dustin and Hunter laughed. "Totally weird, TZT," Dustin said.

"So, have you ever had mansex?" Tobi asked Hunter.

"Not yet," he replied, looking at Dustin a little too suggestively for Tobi's tastes. "But I've always wanted to try it." Drool began to run out of his mouth.

"So, I guess we should be heading back now," Tobi offered in an attempt to break Hunter's concentration.

"Sure," they both agreed.

Tobi wasn't sure whether he should feel jealous of Hunter kissing Dustin or excited that Dustin even liked kissing guys. If Hunter can like girls too, why can't Dustin also like guys? It opened up a whole realm of possibilities.

* * *

Back at Storm Chargers, Hunter entered first. "Hey, Kel!" he greeted _way_ too happily.

Dustin and Tobi followed him in and went straight to work while they heard Tori say, "Look, there's Hunter. I'll go ask him."

"Here they are," Kelly said, handing a pair of gloves to Hunter.

"Thanks," Hunter replied as Tori pranced over to him. "Hey, Tori," he greeted her, still smiling like a love struck puppy.

"So, you going riding?" Tori asked quickly.

"No, just making sure I have spare gloves for the weekend," Hunter replied, nodding.

"Cool," Tori said, pausing. "So, how's it going?"

Hunter shrugged. "Fine." He couldn't help but let a nervous smile slip out as the thought of kissing Dustin crossed his mind.

"Good. So, how's the riding? Are you guys going racing this weekend?" Tori asked, hurrying through the words.

"No," Hunter answered, giving her a confused look.

"How's the track?" she continued.

"Are you alright, Tori?" he asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she replied like she was high on caffeine or something.

"I don't know," Hunter said with a nervous chuckle. He walked over toward his bike and gave a quick, panicked look to Tobi and Dustin. They both knew what he was thinking: She knows about Blake kissing Tobi, doesn't she?

She ran around the counter and over to Hunter. "So, tell me," she pleaded. "Come on."

"Uh... well, it's a sand track so I'm gonna try out these new tired," Hunter replied nervously, sitting on the bike, labeled #11.

"That's great!" Tori said with fake enthusiasm before pausing and getting to what she had been obviously beating around the bush about all along. "How's Blake?"

"Uh, fine," Hunter mumbled, groaning and giving Tobi a quick, panicked look.

"Have you seen him around?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Hunter said quickly. "He's been kinda busy."

"Doing what?" Tori snapped back, failing to completely hide her accusing tone.

"Hmmm..." Hunter pretended to think. "Now that you mention it, I don't know. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah, weird," Tori mumbled, looking over her shoulder toward the door. "I better go," she announced before running off.

"But don't you want to know about the new..." Hunter began as Tori left the store. "...tires?" he finished.

"What's up with Tori?" Dustin asked.

"She must suspect something's going on with Blake and Tobi," Hunter theorized.

"Hey!" Tobi protested. "Nothing's going on between us! So, is Blake really busy with secret stuff all the time or were you just lying to cover for him and his kissing preferences?"

"No, Blake has been busy a lot lately," Hunter explained.

"Oh," Tobi replied, thinking. "I'm gonna go see how she is."

Dustin and Hunter exchanged confused looks.

When Tobi reached the door, Blake was entering.

"Tobi," he greeted nervously. "Well, I better get to work. Those bikes won't set themselves up."

"Uh, right," Tobi said, rolling his eyes before exiting the store.

Tori was standing outside, staring off into space.

"You okay, Tori?" Tobi asked, walking up to his sister.

"Oh, hey Tobi," she greeted. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

He gave her a skeptical look.

She sighed. "It's just that Blake has been acting weird and then I see him dropped off here by some girl—some _woman_," she corrected, "and he says 'I've just been really busy lately, no big deal.'"

"Wait, you think he's cheating on you with another... woman?" he asked, surprised.

"I don't know," she sighed.

"Maybe you should follow him," Tobi suggested. It's what he would do if Dustin and Hunter went missing together.

"I can't do that," she objected.

"Sure you can!" Tobi insisted.

"Okay, you convinced me," she relented.

"That was easy," Tobi said with a laugh.

She glared at him.

"So, anyway," Tobi continued nervously. "I've slept at Ninja Ops, at Dustin's and so... why not tonight sleep at your place?" He knew that, if he did go through with switching morphers, she would need to take it off, which she probably only did when she showered or slept.

"I don't think that would work," she argued.

"Come on!" he insisted. "It'll be like a sleep over! We could gossip about cute guys."

She giggled briefly. "I'm surprised you don't want to stay with Dustin again."

"I don't want Hunter's head to explode," Tobi said before realizing that he might be leaving the door open for Hunter to spend the night with Dustin. Helping neither of his twin sisters would be worth that!

"Alright, I'll think about it," she finally said.

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled, distracted. "See you tonight." He then ran back into Storm Chargers. He was relieved when he saw Hunter working with his brother Blake. Had he really expected to find him making out with Dustin?

He looked around for Dustin and noticed that the back room door was closed. He was about to open it in his quest to find Dustin when he heard voices talking.

"You remember when you said you... loved me?" Dustin's voice asked.

"Sure, dude," Shane's voice answered.

"So, you love me?" Dustin asked nervously.

"Yeah. You're like a brother to me," Shane replied.

"So, you're not... _gay_?" Dustin asked.

"Huh?" Shane said. "I'm not gay, bro."

There was a moment of silence, so Tobi snuck around to the side of the closed room where there was a sliding window over a counter. He carefully slid the wooden panel open just enough so that he could climb up on the counter and peak in on the two without being seen.

Dustin was looking down, deep in thought.

"You're not gay, man," Shane said confidently. "If you were, you would have told me a long time ago or you would have told Tori and she would have told me. So, this must be about Hunter being bi and having a crush on you."

"Twilight Zone Tobi's gay too," Dustin mumbled.

"That I figured out on my own," Shane said, "but Hunter? I never saw that coming."

"And Blake," Dustin added, a shutter running up his spine.

"Blake?" Shane repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah," Dustin replied. "He was making out with TZT, but TZT says Blake wanted to be kissing me instead."

"You?" Shane asked, shocked.

"And both TZT and Hunter said they like... _love_ me," Dustin added. "You know, like like me."

"Oh, man," Shane muttered. "I see why you're kinda freaked, dude. I've had fantasies about a bunch of girls after my body, but a bunch of guys... Even if one does kinda look like a girl."

"You're not helping, dude," Dustin said.

"Sorry," Shane replied before giving Dustin an intense look. "Don't worry, bro. I'm not gay and I won't try to jump your bones."

"Thanks, dude," Dustin replied, smiling. "I don't like... hate the attention, you know?"

"Uh, no I don't," Shane admitted. "Maybe you should talk to Tori. She always knows what to do. Oh, but definitely leave out Blake," he added quickly.

"Yeah," Dustin replied quietly.

"Oh man," Shane repeated before Dustin interrupted him.

"There's more, dude," he said.

"What?" Shane asked. "Don't tell me Tori's a lesbian."

"No," Dustin replied, briefly losing his focus. "But I think I'm like..."

"You're what?" Shane prompted.

"I think I'm like..." Dustin stuttered, taking a breath. "... turning gay," He finally finished.

At that moment, a loud crash echoed through Storm Chargers as Tobi tumbled down from his hiding place.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

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Author's Note: My longest chapter yet! Some of the dialog/events in this chapter (Tori/Blake and Tori/Hunter scenes) are from the opening scenes of the episode _Double Edged Blake_, which is the episode that follows _The Wild Wipeout_. Obviously I changed the perspective, but I'm trying to keep things linear. Anyway, stay tuned and __please__..._

**ATTENTION: I've created a new poll. At the top left of this page, click on Rogue Ranger. My profile will load. At the top of that page it has a poll that asks: **_**Who should Dustin end up with? **_**Click Vote Now! Thanks! (As of the moment I'm writing this, it's tied, so...)**


	10. Out Of The Closet And Into The Conflict

_**Author's Note:** In the poll that asks who Dustin should end up with, it seems readers favor Hunter over Tobi (or any other option). I will keep the poll open for a little while longer just in case... **but I respect the wishes of my readers. **You have a say in how the story goes (to a degree, since sometimes I don't even know what will happen next), **so PLEASE click on the**** Review This Chapter**** button at the bottom of each chapter page.**I have enabled **anonymous **reviews too! I can take constructive criticism. Thank you in advance!_

_Did anyone else who writes fanfiction on here notice that you can't have a question mark and an exclamation mark side by side? This site also deletes anything with too many of the same letters, such as a scream sound. So, in case you're wondering why shouted questions do not have both marks or screams are short, that's why. Otherwise you'd just see: _"!" _Oh, and you can't post links. Those disappear too. Anyway!  
_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi accidentally enters a dark closet and is kissed by Blake, who thought he was his sister Tori. Afterward, Tobi meets with the version of his sister Tori from back in his dimension and she asks him to switch her morpher (which she gives him) with that of this dimension's Tori because hers doesn't work in this dimension. Tobi agrees, but feels guilty. When he gets back to Storm Chargers, Hunter and Dustin think his secret meeting to return the morpher tomorrow is actually another makeout session with Blake. In the heat of passion, Tobi kisses Dustin. At first, he thinks Dustin is freaked out, but he seems okay with it. Dustin even lets Hunter kiss him to "see if he's any different than Tobi." Later, Tori suspects that something is going on with Blake, but thinks he's cheating with a woman because she sees him getting a ride from one (Double Edged Blake episode tie-in). Tobi asked to stay over with Tori to get his opportunity to switch morphers. When he reenters Storm Chargers, he hears a conversation between Shane and Dustin. From his hiding place, he manages to hear Dustin say that he thinks he's "turning gay"...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 10 (Out Of The Closet And Into The Conflict)**

* * *

Shane opened the wooden window dividing the outside counter form the back room of Storm Chargers and glared down disappointedly at Tobi.

"Uh, hi Shane," Tobi greeted, an embarrassed grin on his face as he stood up. "What's up?"

"Were you like... listening the whole time?" Dustin asked, approaching the two.

"Maybe," Tobi admitted, climbing up onto the counter and sliding into the back room.

"He's the reason you're worried you're turning gay," Shane concluded, pointing accusingly toward Tobi while looking at Dustin. "Look, dude, maybe you just like him because he reminds you of Tori and you really like Tori."

"Nah, dude," Dustin argued. "Tori's like a brother—sister," he corrected, "to me."

"What about Marah?" Shane asked.

"I thought she turned good, but she tricked me," Dustin complained.

"But you said you thought she was cute," Shane pointed out.

"As a human, yeah," Dustin admitted, "but not as an evil bitc—"

"But what about your..." Shane interrupted. "You heard about guys having sex in prison, right? They're straight tough guys, right, and then they go without sex so long that they have sex with the guy that looks the most feminine. You know, both guys and girls have lots of the same parts. An ass is an ass, man. Maybe it's just your condition."

"My condition?" Dustin asked. "He knows I'm a virgin, dude."

"Oh," Shane said, nervously eyeing Tobi.

"I'm not just getting desperate," Dustin protested.

"But you can't _turn_ gay," Shane argued.

Tobi couldn't help but agree with Shane on that.

"It would be like me waking up one day and say, 'You know, dude, I'm sick of pussy,'" Shane continued. "I've always liked pussy."

"Come on, dude," Dustin interrupted. "You used to think girls had kooties or something."

"Okay," Shane conceded, "but I'm only counting Middle School and after."

"I liked a boy in Middle School," Dustin said slowly.

"What!" both Shane and Tobi yelled in unison.

Dustin looked down, embarrassed while both waited anxiously. "You remember Jessie?" he asked.

"Jessie Sanders, the eight grader who helped you with spelling when we were in seventh grade?" Shane asked.

"Yeah," Dustin admitted. "I thought it like started because that sixth grader was so nice to me when we were in fourth grade," he continued, lost in thought.

"Which sixth grader?" Shane asked, confused.

"You know," Dustin replied, "the one who got me into motocross after I was all depressed because you became a skater and Tori became a surfer and we like never did any of the stuff I was into."

"I remember him," Shane realized. "You never found out his name before he moved. Man, I remember how depressed you were before he came along."

"Yeah," Dustin admitted. "You stopped being into cartoons and we never read Power Rangers or played Beast Wars anymore and Tori got tired of the Power Colors."

"Power Colors?" Tobi asked.

"When we were little," Shane explained, "Tori made up the 'Primary Colors' because we wore red, blue and yellow. Dustin liked 'The Power Colors' better, so we stuck with that, but I guess we all grew out of our little club. All but Dustin."

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled. "So anyway, like this kid comes along and shows me motocross and biking and stuff and he was really nice and I really liked him and stuff. So, I thought maybe him being so nice made me like boys a little. Cause it wasn't like a lot or an obsession or anything, but then there was Jessie and then Toby..."

"Me?" Tobi asked.

"No, dude," Dustin clarified.

"He was that guy in our swimming class freshman year," Shane realized. "Didn't he beat you up?"

"Wait, two older guys and a bully?" Tobi interrupted. "You're a... _bottom_?"

Dustin turned as red as Shane's shirt. "No, dude. His brother beat me up. I don't like being dominated."

"Really?" Tobi asked. "You like doing the dominating?"

"I like being like equals," he explained.

"Oh," Tobi mumbled.

"You still like girls, though, right?" Shane asked.

"Course," Dustin agreed. "I like girls. I'm not like totally weird you know. But I like guys too." He lowered his head. "In some ways, I like them a lot more."

"In what ways?" Shane asked.

"You know, dude, like how I can have more in common than with a girl and we can relate and stuff," Dustin explained.

"Right," Shane said skeptically. "Didn't you notice the guys you mentioned had something in common _physically_?"

"I didn't even look at their packages so I wouldn't know if they were all..." Dustin defended.

Shane gave him a strange look. "I was going to say they're all blondes, and so is Tobi. This Tobi."

"Oh," Dustin realized. "Guess you're right. Hunter's a blonde too."

"Wait!" Tobi shouted. "You're attracted to Hunter? I thought you guys kissed just for fun."

"You kissed Hunter?" Shane asked, shocked.

Dustin blushed. "Tobi kissed me, so I... I was just like curious, dude. You know?"

"Curiosity killed the lion," Shane warned. "I just think you're a little confused, bro."

"So, you're completely straight?" Tobi asked Shane, turning the tables. "You've never even found a guy at all attractive?"

"Maybe a tiny bit if he was cute," Shane reluctantly admitted, "but I don't like dicks, man." He turned to Dustin. "Dude, you saw Tobi's dick. Did it do anything for you?"

Dustin became flustered.

"I can show you again, if it'll help," Tobi offered.

Shane gave him a quick, horrified look.

"Joking, joking!" Tobi assured him before turning back to Dustin. "And, Dustin, I'm sorry about spraying your face with my... juices."

"You... Oh, man," Shane muttered, shaking his head.

Dustin struggled to breathe correctly.

"Wait!" Tobi realized. "You said you like being _equals_, not being dominated. Hunter's older and he also definitely comes across as a top, so you must like me better than Hunter, since I'm your age and open to any position," he concluded.

Thud! Crash! The three looked over to see Hunter climbing through the window connecting to the main part of Storm Chargers. Behind him were a bunch of faces, each with shocked and/or horrified expressions. Tori, Blake, Kelly and even Cam were there. There were also a few customers gawking for some reason.

"Can I show you guys our bike display?" Kelly offered, trying to herd off the customers.

Dustin covered his face in embarrassment as Tori, Blake and Cam entered the back room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Shane asked defensively.

"Well, Cam decided to drop by since we were all here," Tori explained, taking a seat. "And we saw Hunter spying and then..." She trailed off.

"You were spying on us?" Tobi accused, looking from Hunter over to an extremely embarrassed Dustin.

"How much did you guys hear?" Dustin asked without looking up.

"Enough," Hunter replied.

"Dustin, why didn't you ever tell us you liked guys?" Tori asked in a sympathetic tone.

"I was... embarrassed," he answered. "And I tried to like… not think about it."

"We're your friends," Blake chimed in.

"He didn't have to tell anyone if he didn't want to," Cam offered. "Maybe he had a good reason for keeping his feelings to himself." He shrugged and looked from Tori to Dustin.

"I..." Dustin began. "I'm tired of always being... different, the goofy one. I guess I like didn't want to be any weirder."

"You're not weird, Dustin," Hunter said.

"Really?" Dustin asked, seemingly hopeful.

"We're still your friends no matter what you're like or who you like," Tori explained.

"You are weird," Tobi cut in, causing Dustin to frown. "And I like you that way! Who wants to be like everyone else? You're funny, intuitive, honest, trusting, helpful, friendly and the most wonderful person I've ever met."

Dustin looked at him embarrassed.

"And you're a Power Ranger!" Tobi finished. "Still want to be _normal_?"

Dustin smiled at Tobi.

"I also like you just the way you are," Hunter added. "And Tobi forgot how sweet you are... and cute."

Shane groaned and shook his head.

"Can we all agree that Dustin is just fine the way he is and move on?" Cam suggested.

"You're jealous," Tori realized.

"Don't be silly," Cam defended. "I'm content liking you—I mean liking girls. Liking girls," he quickly clarified.

Tori gave him a strange look while Hunter said, "Smooth," and Blake laughed.

"Don't laugh," Tori warned Blake. "And, Cam, I meant you're jealous of the attention. It's not that we like Dustin more than you."

"Really?" Cam asked skeptically.

"Some of us obviously do," Shane pointed out, gesturing to Hunter and Tobi while giving Blake a questioning glance.

Cam's face fell.

Tobi felt bad for Cam, especially after all he had done for him, so he put an arm on his shoulder. "I like you," he said. "If I weren't in love with Dustin, I'd like you the best. Not 'like like' you, as Dustin would say, but you're a great friend and we're all glad you're around."

Cam gave him a weak grin. He had probably been hoping for something more along the lines of what Tobi had said about Dustin, but Tobi didn't have it in him. He loved Dustin and Cam could never compete with that.

"So, does anyone else want to confess anything today?" Tori asked, looking at Blake.

"Oh, look at the time," Blake said.

"Yeah, I got to be going too," Shane agreed.

"Well, I better get back to Ninja Ops," Cam said.

"What, does everyone have a secret they're keeping from me?" Tori asked as the others ran off.

Tobi looked at his sister and made a serious face. "Tori, I have something to tell you."

Tori's eyes widened. "What is it, Tobi?"

Tobi fidgeted dramatically. "I'm... pregnant. I'm going to have Dustin's baby. Another cute little Dustin is on his way!"

Tori hit him, annoyed.

"You can call him Tiny Tobi," Dustin chimed in, laughing.

"Or Dust Buster!" Tobi added, also laughing.

"You two didn't... do it, did you?" Hunter asked nervously.

"No!" Dustin replied. "I'm saving myself."

"For me?" Hunter asked hopefully.

Tori fought back a laugh.

"For a girl," Dustin said.

"What!" Tobi yelled. "I thought you just came out as bi!"

"And I like want to have my first time with a girl," Dustin explained.

Both Tobi and Hunter's faces fell.

"You two are hopeless," Tori commented. "So, Dustin, do you know what's up with Blake?"

"Oh look!" Dustin said, looking at his arm as if it had a watch on it (which it didn't). "We're like off work. See you later!" He rushed out quickly.

"Wait for me!" Hunter called, following.

Tori shook her head in defeat.

"Let me just check on them and I'll be right back," Tobi told his sister.

"Yeah, sure," Tori pouted.

Tobi was about to leave, but he paused. "Blake really likes you a lot," he explained. "He would never _knowingly_ cheat on you. I just... I thought you should know that."

She looked up at him. "You're right," She said. "Why am I moping around here? So, you still want to come over tonight because I'm thinking of staying over at Blake and Hunter's."

"You're _what_?" Tobi asked.

"I liked your sleepover idea," she explained.

"And you want me there?" he asked, confused as to why she wouldn't want to be alone with her boyfriend.

"I wasn't going to have sex with him," she scolded. "I think a nice friendly little get-together would be fun."

"Uh..." Tobi stuttered.

"And maybe he talks in his sleep," she added.

I sure hope not, Tobi thought. He could only imagine: "Oh, Tobi, you're such a better kisser than Tori!"

"What could possibly go wrong?" she asked.

Tobi stared at her, not believing she had actually said that. "Uh... uh..." he stuttered. "Let me just check on Dustin and Hunter real quick. I'll, uh, be right back." He then ran out of Storm Chargers.

* * *

Hunter and Dustin were standing out front, talking. When they saw him approaching, they stopped.

"Hey," Tobi greeted slowly. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Hunter says he has something he wants to tell me," Dustin explained, "so he wants to like tell me tonight."

Tobi glared at Hunter. "How convenient."

"All's fair in love and war," Hunter explained.

Tobi turned back to Dustin. "Tori wants to stay over at Hunter and Blake's Maybe—"

"That sounds perfect," Hunter interrupted. "She and Blake get a little alone time and Dustin and me..." He put an arm around Dustin's shoulder.

Dustin looked at Hunter nervously.

"Actually," Tobi said, folding his arms, "she doesn't want to be alone with him. She wants a sleepover with Hunter there too. Maybe you can join us, Dustin."

"Join you?" Dustin repeated, confused.

"She wants me to go too, of course," Tobi explained before turning to Hunter. "And, if you have something to tell Dustin, here's your opportunity."

"But, it was supposed to be—" Hunter began to protest.

"Just you two alone in Dustin's bed?" Tobi interrupted.

Dustin fidgeted nervously.

Tobi turned back to Dustin. "And, Dustin, since it's a sleepover, you can pick some movies or other activities. Oh, and snacks of course."

Dustin's face lit up. "A sleepover? That'll be _so_ fun!"

Hunter glared at Tobi. "Yeah, fun' he said coldly.

"It will be fun," Tobi assured them. "What could possibly go wrong?" He immediately covered his mouth, instantly knowing he was going to regret saying that.

_**

* * *

**_

**_To be continued..._**

_**Author's Note: **I took the liberty of giving the back room of Storm Chargers a divider because it's too open to let people have the private conversations they seem to have in the series._


	11. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

_Author's Note: Thanks Annie and JDTB90 for the reviews, glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Hope you like this one too. It seems you both guessed that Hunter was the sixth grader. The answer is revealed in this chapter and I have written a new story called "_All Ninjas But One Grow Up_" that covers their childhood events. As far as Dustin having his first time with a girl, I guess we'll have to see. This chapter took a lot out of me toward the end, but the beginning is fun. Anyway, on to the story..._

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dustin admits that he is attracted to guys in addition to girls. Dustin is revealed not to be a bottom or top, but to like being "equals." Hunter spying on Dustin, Tobi and Shane's conversation leads the whole gang to be in on Dustin's coming out as bi. Tori suspects that Blake (and possibly everyone) is keeping secrets from her, so she plans a little get-together at Blake and Hunter's. Meanwhile, Hunter tells Dustin he has something to tell him tonight. Tobi insists they join the sleepover and resolve things then. And, though, everyone has reservations, both Tori and Tobi say, "What could possibly go wrong?" Of course, whenever someone says that, you know what comes next...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 11 (What Could Possibly Go Wrong?)**

* * *

"Oh, Tobi," Dustin moaned, pulling away from their kiss. "Let's do it now." He then proceeded to remove his shirt.

"Here, let me help you with that," Tobi offered, yanking Dustin's yellow shirt off and throwing it to the ground. He ran his hands along Dustin's smooth, firm chest, letting his fingers linger on the earth ninja's dark nipples.

Dustin reached for his zipper and slid down his jeans. He was wearing boxers with yellow smiley faces on them.

Tobi couldn't help but laugh. "Cute touch," he commented over his shoulder.

Dustin then reached for his boxers and slid them down to reveal... another pair of identical boxers underneath them.

"Here, let me try," Tobi offered, but another identical pair was below that... and another and another.

Tobi turned toward Cam, frustrated.

"I don't know what happened," Cam commented. "It must be a glitch."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, frowning. "The boxers were a cute touch at first, but..."

"I know, I know," Cam replied. "Maybe it's the layering effect. I could remove the boxers and go for only pants."

"I've been waiting this long for Cyber Dustin," Tobi pointed out, "so I guess I can wait a little longer. Oh! Can you make his nipples get hard when I rub them too? And speaking of getting hard when touched..."

Cam looked flustered. "Uh, yeah. As for the nipples, I think I have that effect stored somewhere."

"Great!" Tobi replied. "And I don't think you got his kiss quite right. The real Dustin's lips were a little softer and super hot. I mean, temperature-wise. Oh, and his eyes have more gold in them."

"Anything else?" Cam asked impatiently.

"Could I get fries with that?" Tobi joked before asking with a wide grin, "Did I mention what a great friend you are?"

"You know, I thought Dustin just came out of the closet," Cam reminded Tobi.

"That doesn't mean he's about to drop his pants for me," Tobi pointed out. "I mean, look at Tori. She likes guys but she won't put out."

"Oh, so, uh," Cam stuttered, "she's still a... virgin?"

"I'm pretty sure," Tobi concluded. "She's definitely not giving Blake any."

"Yeah, I've heard he's been forced to look... elsewhere for that," Cam said with a suggestive grin.

"What, does _everyone_ know about me and Blake in the closet?" Tobi asked.

"Maybe Tori knows," Cam suggested with a hopeful look.

"I hope not!" Tobi replied before noticing Cam's expression and remembering Cam wanted Tori to dump Blake. "But maybe she's saving herself for someone else," she suggested.

"Who?" Cam asked.

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Tobi mumbled. "You! I'm talking about you!"

Cam gave him a doubtful look.

"You never know," Tobi offered.

Cam shook his head. "Not to change the subject or anything, but about this party tonight. I thought Blake and Hunter share and _apartment_."

"It's not a party," Tobi clarified. "It's just a 'friendly get together.' No loud music or alcohol. You should come!"

"I don't know if it's my thing," Cam argued.

"I guess if you'd rather work on Cyber Dustin, that's fine," Tobi conceded easily.

"My father is always pressing me to go out and do things with the group," Cam explained. "I guess so."

"I'll let Tori know," Tobi replied before leaving Ninja Ops to meet up with the others.

* * *

Later that evening, the group met at Hunter and Blake's apartment.

"It's kinda unusual for you to invite people to a party at _our_ place, Tori," Blake commented as he helped her carry in her sleeping bag and overnight stuff.

"First off, it's not a party," she explained. "It's a sleepover. Second, it's for _us_ as much as it's for the others."

"Us?" Blake repeated. "With everyone else crowded in here? This feels like payback for something."

"Why? Do you deserve payback for something?" she accused.

"Uh... no... I... uh... Oh! Hey, Dustin!" he greeted.

Dustin struggled to carry in a stack of pizza boxes.

"Ah, the heath food's here," Tori said sarcastically.

"I also brought us some movies and games!" Dustin said, looking for a place to put the pizzas.

"Twister?" Tobi asked, entering and helping Dustin with the boxes. "Strip poker?"

"Uh, no," Dustin replied, confused. "I brought Mario Kart!" he announced.

Tori roller her eyes before greeting, "Hey, Hunter."

"I got the sodas," he said, bringing in a case of bottles.

"Why bottles instead of cans?" Tori asked.

Hunter grinned nervously. "Uh, no reason."

"Spin the bottle," Tobi whispered.

Tori closed her eyes, wondering what she was getting into.

Tobi pulled her aside as the others set up. "So, how are you planning on getting the truth about the... woman out of Blake?" he quietly asked her.

She looked around quickly before pulling out a bottle of prescription pills.

"You're going to give him truth serum!" Tobi said, shocked.

"No!" she defended. "It's just my mom's prescription sleeping pills. The side effects include talking in your sleep. My mom does it all the time."

Tobi stared at her in disbelief. "Your… mom? He repeated.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "What's wrong with that?"

"What have you done with this dimension's Tori!" he demanded.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "The other Tori isn't here."

"No, of course not," he replied quickly.

"Do I really seem... _evil_?" she asked, shoving the bottle in her bag with a guilty look. "What has love done to me?"

"Wait a minute!" Tobi yelled, though trying to keep his voice down. "You love Blake?"

"Oh, I said that, didn't I?" she replied nervously. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out after tonight."

"I brought the action movies!" Shane announced, entering.

Dustin ran up to him with a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth. "Which ones? Let me see!" he somehow managed to ask.

Meanwhile, Blake pulled his brother aside. "How are they all going to fit in here?"

"You and Tori take your bed, Dustin and me in mine and that only leaves Shane, Cam, and Tobi for the living room," Hunter explained.

Blake shook his head. "This is not going to work."

"Hey, it was _your_ girlfriend's idea," Hunter defended.

"Is that what she is?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Hunter replied.

"We'll see," he said nervously.

"You have a plan, don't you?" Hunter accused.

"Uh, maybe..." Blake grinned. "Let's just say it involves getting her naked."

Just then Cam arrived, carrying a guinea pig cage with...

"Sensei!" the group yelled in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Hunter asked, approaching Cam and Sensei.

"I did not wish to spend an evening alone tonight," Sensei explained.

"There goes the party," Dustin whispered, but apparently not quiet enough.

"I am not here to ruin your recreational activities," Sensei defended. "I merely wish to join in."

"I'm sorry, Sensei," Dustin apologized.

"Yeah, we're happy to have you," Tori chimed in.

"Also, it happens to be my... birthday." Sensei confessed, lowering his tiny face.

"What!" everyone yelled.

"That is correct. Many years ago on this day I entered this world," Sensei mused.

"Dude, how long ago was that?" Dustin asked.

Shane promptly elbowed him.

"That is not important," Sensei replied. "What is important is that those years have made me wiser."

"And smaller," Tobi added to himself.

"Now, let us continue the festivities unimpeded," Sensei declared.

"Huh?" Dustin asked.

"Party on, dude," Shane translated.

"No cake?" Tobi asked Cam.

Cam watched his father somersault onto a box. "I forgot," he admitted, looking depressed. "I guess I had a lot on my mind."

"Hey, it's not _that_ bad that you're dad's here, is it?" Tobi asked.

"It's not just that," Cam whispered back. "I thought..."

"I don't think you were going to get any alone time with Tori to begin with," Tobi pointed out. "Not with everyone here."

"It's not that," Cam replied, looking around nervously.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" Tobi asked. "What, is everyone plotting something tonight?"

"Why, are you?" Cam replied.

"Me?" Tobi asked, thinking of his plan to switch morphers while Tori showered or slept. "No!" He pretended to laugh at the ridiculous idea. "So, what are you up to?"

Cam looked around once more. "Promise not to tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed," Tobi agreed.

"Okay," Cam began quietly. "Marah and Kapri used this formula on Blake and myself to make one of us fall for them, but Tori was there and we both fell for her. I managed to save a sample and recreate it..."

"And you're going to give it to Tori?" Tobi concluded.

"Yes," Cam replied, "but I only think it works if the person likes the other person to begin with because it made Blake and me fall for Tori."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled, feeling Cam's plan was doomed if his sister really loved Blake, but knowing another perfectly good use for Cam's love potion. "So, would it work on anyone? Say... Dustin?"

"I don't even know for sure if it will work at all," Cam confessed. "And, with my father here, I probably won't use it tonight."

"What a shame," Tobi mumbled. "You can always make more, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied.

"Perfect," Tobi declared. "If you're not going to use that batch, I have a little experiment of my own."

Cam gave him a suspicious look. "Uh, I think I'll hold onto it for now."

"Suit yourself," Tobi frowned.

"Ah! I forgot my sleeping bag!" Dustin suddenly announced.

Hunter grinned. "You can always share my bed," he generously offered. "It's nice and big and… comfortable."

"I'll go with you to go get it!" Tobi quickly offered.

"Uh, sure, TZT," Dustin agreed, giving Hunter a wary look. "I'll, uh, be back."

"Quickly," Tobi whispered, pushing Dustin out the door, "before Hunter follows us."

"I'm coming. Chill out, dude," Dustin laughed.

"So, did you really forget your sleeping bag?" Tobi asked once they were outside.

"Yeah, why?" Dustin replied, confused.

"No reason," Tobi explained. "It just seems like everyone else is up to something tonight."

"I'm just up for having a good time," Dustin replied, smiling.

Tobi smiled back. "Yeah, me too. But I think Hunter's gonna try to get you in bed one way or another tonight."

Dustin laughed nervously. "I'm not worried."

"You're not?" Tobi asked. "You don't want to..."

Dustin nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I just mean he didn't like attack me in the bathroom today. He was... gentle."

"Hunter was _gentle_?" Tobi asked in disbelief. "What about... me?"

"You were more... passionate," Dustin replied.

"Oh, sorry I guess," Tobi apologized, looking down.

Dustin stopped walked and turned to Tobi. "No, dude," he said, lifting Tobi's chin so their eyes met, "I liked it."

Tobi smiled up at him.

"You get all insecure just like me sometimes, TZT," Dustin continued, lowering his hand. "You make me feel... less weird I guess."

"Or like being weird is okay?" Tobi suggested.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed.

"You make me feel the same way," Tobi added.

"Me?" Dustin asked, confused.

"I never fit in back in my own dimension," Tobi explained.

"I know what that's like, dude," Dustin replied.

Tobi smiled at him. "And you deal with it and so do I. You make me feel like I belong." He gestured with his hands. "I mean, who would have thought that I'd fit in better here in this weird dimension." He laughed a little.

"I'm glad you ended up in this dimension, TZT," Dustin said, returning his smile.

"So am I," Tobi replied, staring into Dustin's dark eyes as they reflected the setting sun. They seemed to burn with golden sunlight. "Dustin," he said softly, not breaking eye contact. "I love you."

"I know," Dustin reminded him. "You told me already. So does Hunter."

"Yeah," Tobi replied, finally breaking his eye contact. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" Dustin asked.

"Who do you love?" Tobi said slowly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know if I've ever been in love, like _ever_."

Tobi sighed. "Trust me, you'd know. You'd definitely know."

"I've had crushes and stuff," Dustin continued, "but I think love's _different_." He cocked his head to one side and looked off, deep in thought.

"One day you're gong to have to choose," Tobi whispered.

"Huh?" Dustin asked.

"Between us," Tobi finished.

"Oh," Dustin mumbled, watching the colors of the clouds blend together over the setting sun.

Tobi watched him fro a while until they continued off into the sunset.

* * *

When the two returned to Hunter and Blake's apartment with Dustin's sleeping bag and overnight belongings, they were greeted by Shane wearing underwear on his head.

"Uh, dude, did you know you have underwear on your head?" Dustin asked slowly.

"Yeah, bro, I know," Shane said, glancing up. "Truth or dare. Too bad you missed Tori showing off her tits."

"What!" both Dustin and Tobi yelled in unison.

Shane laughed. "Dudes, I'm just kidding. We just started. Besides, Tori would never do something crazy like that."

Dustin and Tobi exchanged looks as they entered.

"Tobi!" Tori greeted. "Sit in for me," she insisted, whispering, "These guys keep trying to get me to pick dare and I know what they have in mind."

"Really?" Tobi replied with fake surprise before approaching the others. They were all seated in a circle on the floor, including Sensei.

"We already know all Tobi's secrets," Hunter complained. "How about Dustin?"

Dustin fidgeted nervously. "Maybe I'll pick dare?" he suggested.

"Suits me just fine," Hunter grinned.

Dustin nervously took a seat while Tobi stood by his sister and watched.

"Alright," Sensei said, his little guinea pig nose twitching, "it was my turn and, if I recall, Cameron, you chose dare, no doubt because I am your father and you assumed I would go easy on you." He grinned. "I dare you to... bake me a cake made out of those delicious guinea pig snacks I love."

Everyone stared at Sensei with surprised expressions.

"This is a strange game of truth or dare," Dustin commented.

Cam looked like he thought his father might be joking, so Blake chimed in. "Feel free to use our kitchen, bro."

"Alright," Cam said, standing. "Uh, Tori, would you mind helping me?"

"What? Because I'm a girl, I know how to cook?" she replied defensively.

"Well," Cam added, hesitantly glancing at the others, "we did take that cooking class together. Besides, can you name one of them who can cook?"

She looked from Dustin to Hunter, Blake and Shane. "I see your point."

Tobi caught Cam give him a nervous grin as they left for the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Hunter was looking suggestively at Dustin. "I guess it's you and me. So, what'll it be? Truth... or dare?"

"Uh," Dustin squirmed, "shouldn't it be Blake's turn?"

Hunter frowned, but looked at Blake and said, "Sure."

Dustin breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Truth or dare?" Blake asked.

"Truth," Dustin said before changing his mind. "Dare. I pick dare."

Blake exchanged a look with his brother that said, "Please don't make me go through with this," but Hunter nodded and Blake continued.

"I dare you to kiss Hunter," Blake said unenthusiastically.

Dustin's eyes widened for a moment until it sunk in. He was tricked and it made him mad, but he simply tilted his head, leaned forward and proceeded to kiss Hunter, who already had a big, satisfied smile on his face.

"Ouch!" Hunter cried as Dustin pulled away.

Hunter held his lip, giving Dustin a confused look. "You bit me?" Then a grin curled up on Hunter's injured mouth.

Tobi leaned forward and whispered to Dustin, "I told you he likes it rough. You aroused him. _'Gentle'_ my virgin butt!"

Dustin's expression changed to an uneasy smile. "You know," he said quickly, "this game's kinda lame. Anyone up for Mario Kart?"

"How about a movie?" Shane suggested.

"Personally," Sensei chimed in, "I would enjoy this 'Mario Kart.'"

"Right on!" Dustin cheered, ready to give Sensei a high five, but quickly realizing the difficulty in that.

"Let me go check on Tori and Cam while you guys set things up," Tobi said, heading for the kitchen.

"Cam, I really don't want to taste the batter," Tori insisted while Cam held a bowl in front of her. "I really don't think I'd be a good judge of what tastes good to a guinea pig."

"I'm sure the batter's fine," Tobi said as he entered the kitchen. "Here, let me help you." He pulled a confused Cam aside. "Listen," he whispered to Cam. "The Tori from my dimension loves chocolate. Make her a cake or cupcake or something and say 'Why waste all the space in the oven for one little Sensei cake?'"

Cam smiled, seeing the idea form in his mind.

"Now, I'll help you, but I want everything I listed in Cyber Dustin," Tobi demanded, "plus I want him to blush and get a little flustered when I kiss him."

"Agreed," Cam said, discretely shaking Tobi's hand.

"What are you two doing over there?" Tori asked suspiciously.

"Oh," Cam said, turning around. "Tobi was just mentioning what a waste it would be to, uh, use the whole oven for such a small cake."

"Well, I don't think Sensei can eat a large one and no one else will want to try a cake made out of guinea pig food," she pointed out, adding, "except maybe Dustin."

"We could make a second little cake for you," Cam suggested smoothly, "for your troubles—your help in the kitchen."

"That's sweet," Tori replied with a blush, "but maybe you're right. We should make a second cake, one large enough for everyone. And we can sing happy birthday and everything."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Cam said flatly, seeing his plan crumble before him.

"Why not?" Tori asked, confused.

"He's just worried there won't be enough batter," Tobi chimed in. "I think it's a great idea." He looked at Cam, who gave him a panicked look. "Cam, will you gather the... _seasonings_?"

Cam closed his eyes and grimaced for a moment before complying.

"Perfect," Tobi said. "Now, I'm just going to check on the others real quick. I'll be right back." He quickly peaked in the other room, relieved to see Hunter still nursing his bit lip while Dustin, Sensei, Shane and Blake played Mario Kart.

Satisfied, Tobi returned to the kitchen.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you!" the group sang to Sensei as Cam brought out a cupcake with a single candle atop it for Sensei and Tori brought out a large chocolate cake for everyone else to enjoy.

"You live in a zoo," Dustin sang along.

"So true," Shane agreed.

"You smell like a guinea pig, and you look like one too," Dustin continued.

"Happy birthday, dear Sensei," Tori sang loudly, trying to drown out Dustin. "Happy birthday to you."

Sensei grinned up at the others.

"Make a wish!" Tori encouraged.

Sensei closed his beady little eyes and blew out the single candle. He then opened his eyes and looked around. "Did my wish come true?" he asked.

"What did you wish for?" Shane asked.

"Am I no longer a guinea pig?" he asked hopefully.

The others looked around nervously.

"Oh, chocolate! My favorite!" Blake said, reaching for the cake. Cam instinctively slapped his hand away.

Meanwhile, Sensei looked at his tiny hands and feet, disappointed.

"I want the biggest piece!" Dustin insisted.

"I'll get it for you!" Tobi immediately volunteered.

"Everyone control yourselves," Tori interrupted the barrage of hands. "I'll serve. And everyone gets the same size."

Cam gave Tobi a panicked look, but Tobi just shrugged. All the cake would do for him would be to make him love Dustin more, if that was even possible.

Just to be on the safe side, Tobi made sure to stand directly in front of Dustin and stare at him while he wolfed down his piece. "What?" he asked, pieces of cake going flying. When he was done with that one, Tobi offered him his piece, which he eagerly jammed into his mouth.

Tobi couldn't help but cringe a little at Dustin's eating habits. Then he started to imagine licking the chocolate off Dustin's face. "So, Dustin, how do you feel?" he asked once Dustin was finished with his second piece.

"Firsty," he mumbled, chocolate making his th sound like an f.

"Oh," Tobi replied, disappointed. "I guess I'll get you some milk or something," he offered.

On his way to the kitchen he pulled Cam aside. He had an untouched piece of cake on his plate and had been studying Tori intently.

"It's not working," Tobi whispered.

"It might have been deluded," Cam theorized. "Or it may have been baked out. I wasn't planning on using it for more than one person. It might not be concentrated enough," he realized, suddenly taking his plate to Tori. "Here, I'm not very hungry," he offered.

"Thank you, Cam," she replied, "but I can't eat a whole piece. Here." She proceeded to cut the piece in half.

Once half a piece was sitting on Cam's plate, Tobi walked by and grabbed the plate, immediately offering it to Dustin, who ate it in one bite.

"Here's your milk," Tobi then offered. "Oh, and here." He grabbed a napkin and began to clean the chocolate and milk from Dustin's face.

"Thanks," Dustin said, grinning with chocolate colored teeth.

"I could have cleaned your mouth," Hunter said, approaching Dustin and licking his own chocolate covered lips.

"Dude," Dustin said, "I suddenly feel kinda sleepy."

"Oh crap," Tori said.

"What's wrong, Tori?" Blake asked, just now finishing his piece.

"Nothing," she said hastily. "Just bit my lip." She then ran into the kitchen.

"So, you up for a little spin the bottle?" Hunter continued.

"Dude, I'll have to pass," Dustin said.

With that, Tobi discretely slipped into the kitchen to find his sister hastily brewing some coffee.

"Are you okay?" Tobi asked his sister.

"Uh, Tobi, you remember my little... gift for Blake?" she asked, giving up on waiting for the water to boil and just deciding to chew on coffee grinds.

"You put the pills in the cake!" Tobi realized.

"You don't have to tell me," she said, making a face as she chewed. "I know it was a bad idea."

"Really bad," Tobi agreed. If only she knew what else had been in the cake.

"Wow, did it suddenly get hot in here?" she said quickly before looking at Tobi with a strange grin. "You know, Tobi, have I ever told you how nice it is to have you as my brother?" She approached him and put an arm around him. "Anything I can do for you, oh brother of mine?" She pinched his cheek. "So cute!" she started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Are you okay, Tori?" Tobi asked slowly.

"Don't you get it?" she asked between fits of laughter. "We're twins! It's like I'm calling myself cute!"

Suddenly Tobi realized what was going on. Cam's formula had just now taken effect and he was with Tori, meaning Dustin was with... _Hunter_!

He rushed out of the kitchen to find what he had most feared. Dustin and Hunter had their lips locked tightly together and they were kissing with a passionate fury.

Cam and Sensei were watching with looks of shock and horror, while Shane and Blake were trying to break them apart.

Hunter was first to pull away, but when he did, it became evident that Dustin had fallen asleep while standing. He was snoring and mumbling to himself. "No, mommy, I don't want to go to school today!"

"What have you done to Dustin!" Shane growled, setting Dustin down carefully on the couch. "Dustin, are you okay?" He turned back to Hunter. "Why, you!" He raised his fists to fight. "How dare you seduce my sweet little Dustin!"

"And how dare _you_ accuse my brother of seducing anyone!" Blake yelled back, standing between the two and putting a hand on Hunter's chest. "My brother is nothing but a loving and caring person." He turned to his brother. "Hunter, big brother, tell me you love me more. Tell me Dustin means nothing to you."

Hunter shoved Blake off him. "Dustin, my love, wake up. I..." Then Hunter's eyes began to flutter closed and he fell on top of Dustin.

"Gah!" Tobi screamed, rolling Hunter off Dustin, causing him to tumble to the floor.

Both Shane and Blake immediately rushed in to help one or the other.

"I guess this is the 'sleepover' part," Tobi commented.

"I don't understand how this happened," Cam commented.

"Just get the coffee," Tobi advised.

"Did anyone say coffee?" Tori asked, emerging from the kitchen full of energy. "I love coffee. Not as much as I love my twin brother." She ran up and squeezed Tobi. "Oh, what's going on here?"

"I think something was in the..." Blake mumbled before succumbing to the sleep drug.

Shane fell victim next and the two knocked heads on the way down.

"Tori," Tobi said, trying to pry his sister off him, "Why don't you take a nice warm bath to calm yourself down."

"You think I should?" she asked quickly.

"Yes, I do," he replied. "Here, follow me." He led her to the bathroom and started the water.

"You're so sweet!" Tori gushed. "Sweet like that delicious chocolate cake! Do you like cake? Of course you like cake. But if you didn't like cake, I could live without it. Please tell me you like cake!" she shouted.

"Here," Tobi offered. "The water's all nice and warm. Just take off your clothes and put this washcloth over your face and you'll get a nice relaxing facial at the same time."

She gave him a perplexed look. "I can't get naked in front of you."

"Of course you can!" he insisted. "It's nothing I haven't seen, but I'll turn my back if it will help." He turned around and faced the toilet.

"Alright," she agreed. "If you say so."

He could hear her undress behind him and slip into the tub. When he turned around, though, he frowned. "You left your morpher on," he pointed out.

"It's water proof," she said.

"But you won't get your arm clean," he told her.

"You're right," she agreed, removing her morpher. "You're so smart! And cute! Did I mention how cute you are?"

"Here," he said, placing a warm washcloth over her eyes. "Now, just try to relax."

"Ahhh," she sighed while Tobi hastily swapped morphers.

"Just stay right there and relax," he advised. "I'll be right back." He then slipped out of the bathroom and found Cam moving sleeping bodies around.

"Give me a hand," he asked Tobi. "I'm trying to get Hunter and Blake to their beds. I managed to get Dustin spread out on the couch and Shane's okay on the floor for now."

Tobi helped Cam lug the brothers to the beds.

"I don't know how I could have messed up on the formula so badly," Cam commented. "I did have to take a guess as to what one of the amino acids was."

"It worked," Tobi pointed out. "It just took a while to kick in. And kick it did."

"But there shouldn't have been a drowsiness side effect," Cam continued.

"Don't worry," Tobi assured him, setting Blake in his bed. "We'll get it right next time."

Cam gave him a quick, horrified expression. "Next time? As it is, my father suspects something."

"If it gets your mind off things," Tobi offered, "Tori's in the bathroom naked with a washcloth covering her eyes."

"Tori," Blake mumbled in his sleep. "You can't compare to Tobi's juicy lips, but, oh, my brother Hunter, why do I wonder what your lips are like?"

Cam and Tobi exchanged glances before Cam wandered off.

As Cam left, Sensei entered the room. "It appears the festivities have ended early tonight," he commented.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, "but it's been quite a night already."

At that moment, they heard Tori scream.

"I didn't see anything!" Cam yelled. "I just... wanted to brush my teeth after that cake. Cavities, you know."

Tori emerged from the bathroom wearing a towel. "I'm calling it a night," she said, scowling. "Where are my clothes?"

"They're in the bathroom," Tobi reminded her.

"Right," she said. "Thank you, Tobi."

He sighed. This was not how the night was supposed to go. Leaving the room, he decided to call it a night too. So, he pushed aside Shane, making himself a spot to sleep at the foot of the couch.

For a moment, he stood over Dustin and watched him sleep. Knowing he was out cold and that Hunter had been kissing him while he was asleep, Tobi took a chance and leaned his face toward Dustin's. He kissed Dustin's lips softly this time.

Dustin moaned. "Hunter," he mumbled in his sleep.

Tobi pulled back and watched him for another moment. "Goodnight, Dustin," he whispered. "I love you, even if you don't love me." He then took his place on the floor.

Just before he drifted off to sleep, Shane called out, "Spiders! Ah! I hate spiders!"

* * *

The next morning, Tobi awoke on the floor and looked around. Both Dustin and Shane were still asleep, so he stood up and stretched, then noticing Cam sitting in the recliner. "Hey, Cam," he greeted. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Some," Cam replied unemotionally. He was staring out the window at the early morning sky.

"Are you okay?" Tobi asked.

"Tori talks in her sleep," he replied slowly.

"Oh," Tobi said, glad that at least his sister had managed to sleep after chewing coffee grounds last night.

"She loves him," Cam continued, his eyes still fixed off into the distance.

"Who?" Tobi asked before realizing. "Oh. Look, I'm sorry, Cam."

"It's not a problem," he replied, standing. "Well, I better get back to Ninja Ops. Lothor will be up soon."

Tobi looked around. "Where's Sensei?"

"He's asleep in the cage," Cam answered.

"How come your formula didn't effect him?" Tobi asked. "I thought you put some in the batter for his cake first."

"I mixed most of it with the chocolate cake," Cam explained. "Maybe what was left wasn't enough or maybe he doesn't love anyone."

"I'm sure he loves you," Tobi suggested.

"No one loves me," Cam said coldly before reaching for the cage. "Don't worry, I won't wake him. He'll be glad to wake up by his favorite bonsai." He sighed. "We'll both be glad to put the night behind us."

"Cam, I—" Tobi began, but Cam was gone. So, instead, he headed for the bathroom. As he opened the door, he ran into his sister.

"Oh, good morning, Tobi," she said, holding her head. "I have such a headache for some reason. I can understand my back hurting. After all, I feel asleep in the bath tub. So, how did you sleep?"

"Alright, I guess," he answered. "So, you feel okay today?"

"No," she replied, confused. "Weren't you listening?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm gonna pee and take a shower. You done in here?"

"Most definitely," she said, leaving. "It's all yours."

* * *

Tobi took his time showering. Every time he wanted to start his regular morning masturbation session, he kept hearing Dustin whisper Hunter's name or see him kissing Hunter. Instead, he tried to picture last night, when Dustin had lifted his head and told him that he made him feel less weird.

Tobi was finally making some progress when he heard his sister ask from the other side of the door, "Hey, Tobi, is my morpher in there?"

"What?" he heard a male voice say from inside the bathroom. "How can—Oh no!"

Tobi peaked out to see a naked Blake with a shocked expression. Tobi couldn't help but look over Blake's body. He was no Dustin or Cyber Dustin, but he wasn't bad.

"I..." Blake stuttered, looking like he was going to faint. "I thought... Tori... but... again!" He then passed out.

Tobi quickly left the shower to check on Blake.

"Blake?" Tori's voice asked. "Why are you in there?" She then opened the bathroom door (which Tobi had failed to lock) and froze.

Tobi was crouched over a naked Blake, his own wet, naked body at full attention. "Uh, it's not what it looks like!" Tobi insisted.

"_This_ is the secret he's been keeping from me?" she said, still in shock.

"No!" Tobi shouted, grabbing two towels, one to wrap around his waist and another to toss over an exposed and unconscious Blake. "He thought I was you again."

"Again?" she asked.

"Oh... well," Tobi fidgeted. "You see, he thought I was you when I ran into him in a dark closet and we kissed. I swear, besides the kiss, nothing else happened between us. And both times, he thought I was you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked accusingly.

"About the closet?" he asked. "Well, I..."

"I thought I was supposed to be your sister," she reminded him.

"You are," he agreed. "I mean, not my real sister, but—"

"Just hand me my morpher," she said, holding her head again. "I have too much of a headache right now."

He handed her his dimension's sister's morpher, which was sitting next to his morpher-shaped communicator and, for that moment, he didn't regret betraying this dimension's version of his sister. Right now, he felt a little mad at her for _accusing him_.

* * *

Blake regained consciousness after Tobi had dried and dressed. "Don't panic," he told Blake as he went to leave the bathroom. "I didn't do anything. Just be more careful from now on."

"Uh, yeah," Blake mumbled in response as Tobi left.

When Tobi looked around, he noticed that Dustin was no longer on the couch. The first place he checked was the kitchen, then he checked... Hunter's bedroom. When he approached the only slightly open door, he peaked inside. Sure enough, Dustin was sitting on Hunter's bed next to Hunter, but at least they weren't kissing this time.

"Dude, I don't remember much from last night," Dustin told Hunter. "Except that. And, dude, why does my head hurt? I feel like Rita Repulsa."

"Huh?" Hunter replied. "Well, I feel the same way, but yeah, about last night... You remember I said I had something to tell you?"

"Yeah," Dustin replied. "What is it?" His eyes burned with curiosity.

"You remember the first time we met?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "You and Blake smoked me on the track. You were kind of a jerk to me. Then you'd be cool. Then you'd be a jerk. It really messed with my head, man."

"You sure that's the first time we met?" Hunter asked, adding, "Waldo?"

"Hey!" Dustin yelled. "Who told you that?"

"You still don't remember, do you?" Hunter teased, removing a picture from his pocket. "That's why I brought this. Look familiar?"

"Hey, that's the sixth grader who..." He looked up at Hunter. "That was you," he realized. "You got me into motocross and then you moved and I never found out your name even."

"I knew the moment we met that there was something special between us," Hunter said.

Dustin blushed. "I guess I kind of felt something too."

Hunter put the picture away. "Dustin," he said, staring into his eyes. "We're meant to be together."

"What?" Dustin asked. "You mean, like destiny?"

"Do you have any other explanation?" Hunter offered.

Dustin fidgeted nervously. "I can't think of anything."

Hunter brushed a stray curl of hair out of Dustin's face. "I know." He laughed.

"What?" Dustin asked defensively this time.

"I was just thinking," Hunter mused. "You said you'd become a Power Ranger and you did."

"Yeah," Dustin replied, smiling. "I'm the only one who believed. Who's the dumb one now?"

"You're not dumb," Hunter scolded.

"You called me a goof," Dustin reminded him.

"I called you a lot of things behind your back," Hunter admitted, looking down.

"What!" Dustin demanded.

Hunter grinned for a moment before looking serious again. "I kept telling myself that you were a stupid goofball and I shouldn't feel the way I did about you. I felt so out of control and I hated it." He gritted his teeth at the memory. "I wanted so bad to change what you did to me, but I couldn't. You were like a drug."

Dustin looked at him with confusion and apprehension in his eyes.

"Every time I was with you, it was like you calmed me down," he continued, "but the moment I was away from you, I couldn't stand it. I felt... _powerless_ when it came to you."

"I guess that explains a lot," Dustin replied, "but how come you never told me?"

Hunter gave him an uneasy smile. "Maybe part of me blamed you A big part of it was that I didn't want to hurt you. But I can't say I love you and not tell you how messed up I can be inside. And, as cliché as it sounds, I need you. You're exactly what I need."

"Really?" Dustin asked.

"Trust me," Hunter said, the smile returning to his face, "really."

"Well, you were like always a good friend to me," Dustin began. "Okay, not always, but it's cool that you're into the same kind of stuff as me and you'd give me advice like a big brother or something. I guess I didn't always get you, but I don't think you always get me."

"I want to," Hunter said, looking deep into Dustin's earthy brown eyes with his own cloudy blue ones. "I want to get you."

Dustin looked down and seemed to be thinking. "I should tell TZT," he finally said.

"What do you need to tell Tobi?" Hunter asked, confused.

"I should tell him," Dustin began, hesitating before looking back at Hunter, "I think I _chose_."

Tobi backed away from the door slowly. When he reached up to cover his mouth for fear he might make a noise, he realized his face was covered in tears.

"Oh man, my head," Shane moaned, waking.

Tobi ran around him and straight out the front door. He never looked back.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_Author's Note: I guess I didn't know how much I was emotionally invested in the story until I finished this chapter. I'm heartbroken for a fictional character and I feel such a sense of loss. Maybe because, deep down, Tobi isn't that different from me. But people wanted Dustin to end up with Hunter and I didn't' go half way. In fact, I wrote a separate story called "_All Ninjas But One Grow Up_" about their childhood meeting. Somehow I'll make it work out in the end. Please click "_Review this Chapter_" at the bottom of the page and leave comments/suggestions. Thanks!_


	12. Belonging for Beginners

_Author's Note: This chapter takes place during the episode "_Double Edged Blake_." Review responses are at the end of the chapter to avoid spoilers._

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**After helping Cam with Cyber Dustin, the two head over to a sleepover at Hunter and Blake's apartment. Sensei shows up and says it's his birthday. Meanwhile, Tori plans to give Blake sleeping pills with the side effect of him talking in his sleep, Cam plans to give Tori a love potion and Blake plans to get Tori naked. Dustin forgets his sleeping bag, so Tobi goes with him. On their way, Dustin tells Tobi that he makes him feel less weird. Tobi tells Dustin that he will need to choose between him and Hunter one day. Back at the apartment, the group plays truth or dare. Because of a dare, Dustin kisses Hunter but bites his lips, only making Hunter more aroused. Because of another dare, Cam and Tori end up baking in the kitchen. After singing Happy Birthday to Sensei, the group eats cake tainted with both Cam's love potion and Tori's sleeping pills. Tori falls for Tobi, who is horrified to find Dustin and Hunter making out. Of course, it doesn't last long as everyone passes out (except for Tori, who chews coffee grounds). To calm Tori down, Tobi makes her a bath and manages to switch morphers on her. Before calling it a night, Tobi kisses Dustin, who calls out Hunter's name in his sleep. The next morning, Blake sneaks into the bathroom naked while Tobi showers. Tori enters and gets the wrong idea, causing the truth about the closet kiss to come out and Tori to be pissed off. After his shower, Tobi spies on Dustin in Hunter's room. Hunter reveals he's the sixth grader that got Dustin into motocross. Dustin says he needs to talk to Tobi, to tell him the "chose." Tobi runs out of the house crying...**_

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* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 12 (Belonging For Beginners)**

* * *

Tobi kept running until he was too tired and then he just walked. The events of his time in this dimension replayed in his head, but they took on a new meaning. He didn't belong here.

He hadn't really helped Tori. His sister would have ended up with Blake no matter what. She may have claimed not to have feelings for him in the past, but Tobi could see right through her. But, had Tobi not been around, their relationship wouldn't be strained right now. He wouldn't have been... in the way.

And then there was Cam. He never thought he had any chance with Tori until Tobi built up his hopes only to let them be smashed to bits. He would have been alright seeing Tori and Blake together without that false hope Tobi gave him.

Last, but certainly not least, Tobi may have pushed Dustin to admit his attractions sooner, but he could never change fate. He and Hunter were destined to be together, while Tobi was never supposed to be in this dimension at all. He had no destiny here and his presence only threw everything out of whack. Again, he didn't belong.

When he looked up, he realized that, without being aware of it, he had walked to the house he once shared with his sister... _home_.

He walked all the way to the front door before he realized what he was doing. Once it settled in, he turned to leave. Behind him, the front door opened.

"There you are," a familiar female voice said from behind him. "So, how was your sleepover?"

A figure walked past him and retrieved a rubberbanded newspaper from the porch.

"Mom?" he whispered.

She turned around, smiling. Then she stopped and squinted. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were my daughter. You look so... similar." She clutched the newspaper to her chest as if Tobi were going to steal it. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry," Tobi said, shaking off his surprise at seeing his mother alive. "I'm a friend of Tori's."

"Oh," his mother said, sighing with relief. "She has so many now."

"I, uh, have a message from her," Tobi continued.

His mother stood and waited.

"She'll be home soon and..." He took a breath. "She wants to say, 'I love you, mom.'" He looked directly at her when he said the last part.

She smiled, but Tobi turned and left quickly, already feeling the tears returning.

* * *

He spent the rest of the morning waiting in the park for his sister to arrive from Lothor's ship. He busied himself by putting Tori's morpher on. He had always wanted to be a Power Ranger like his sister and like the others, but he never fit in. It was almost like he didn't belong in any dimension.

He stood up and copied his sister's movements when she transformed into her Power Ranger suit. Just for fun, he called out, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Just as he was about to say, "Power of Water!" he felt his body tingle. He looked down to see his clothes dissolve like they were exploding off of him into ash. Where there had previously been nothing underneath the shirt and shorts, he now found himself wearing his sister's blue Power Ranger suit.

There were some differences though. The suit had transformed slightly to look more masculine on him. Apparently, his DNA was close enough to Tori's for the morpher to work on him.

A sense of excitement filled him. Although he liked gold slightly more than blue, it was exhilarating to finally be a Power Ranger. He decided to try doing some of the things his sister could do. First, he ran around in a circle as fast as he could. Of course, that ended up being so fast that he felt like he was going to throw up.

Next, he concentrated on making water from a nearby sprinkler take shape in his hand. He kept concentrating, but nothing seemed to be happening. Just when he was about to give up, he noticed that the fountain near him was now spiraling water in the air around itself. Clearly the whole Power Ranger thing would take some getting used to as far as controlling the abilities.

The water came splashing down when a sound distracted him. Someone was clapping. He looked around to see his sister leaning against a tree applauding. She had a slightly amused expression on her face.

"Tori," he said, surprised. Feeling around for a button on the morpher to open the visor on his helmet, he declared, "I'm a Power Ranger!"

"Congratulations," she said unenthusiastically. "Now it's my turn."

"But..." Tobi mumbled, disappointed. "I don't want to."

"It's my suit," she reminded him, "even if it does look a little better on you." She laughed.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"It just doesn't leave much to the imagination," she explained. "Looks like someone forgot his morning jackoff session, not so little brother."

He blushed a little but he didn't feel that embarrassed, since his sister had caught him masturbating plenty of times. "Fine," he said, pouting and deactivating his morpher. He looked down to find his clothes exactly as they had been, despite the fact that they had looked like they had dissolved earlier.

She very casually approached him and reached out for the morpher.

"You sure I can't try it out for one more day?" he pleaded.

"Can't your _friends_ make you your own?" she asked in an accusing tone. "You guys seem pretty _close_."

"How do you know what I've been doing?" he asked, confused.

"Lothor has this screen that shows all kinds of stuff," she explained. "I have no idea how it works. He must have cameras everywhere in the city. I wonder if Mayor Lothor has that."

"Uh, I don't know," he said, removing Tori's morpher. "And I don't know if this dimension's Power Rangers are still my friends."

"Finally come to your senses?" she asked, grinning. "And Lothor thought you'd need to be kidnapped and brainwashed. Ha!"

"Oh." He looked down while she strapped on the Morpher. "I just... I don't think I belong here. Is Lothor really trying to find a way to our dimension? If so, I... I think I want to go back."

"I think it's one way," she said, hastily activating the morpher. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" she declared, transforming. "Power of Water!"

"So, are the others coming here then?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said, now in her blue Power Ranger suit. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have some things to take care of. Now, if you can get me the other morphers, I'd be really grateful. I'll send you a note!" And then, in a flash, without so much as a goodbye, she was gone.

"Bye," he mumbled. Even his _real_ sister didn't seem to really care about him. It was almost like no one loved him. The thought made him feel depressed and abandoned.

* * *

He didn't know where to go now, so he just kept walking until he found himself at Storm Chargers.

"Hello... Tobi, wasn't it?" Kelly greeted him with a friendly tone.

"Yeah," Tobi replied, looking around. "Where's Dustin and the others?"

"Not here," she replied. "That's all I can tell you. You might check the track."

"That's okay," Tobi mumbled, turning to leave.

"Are you alright?" she asked, coming around the counter. "Did something happen between you and Dustin?"

He looked at her curiously. "Why would you think that?"

"It's just that Dustin stopped by earlier to ask if I had seen you," she explained. "Then he left in a hurry."

"He was looking for me?" Tobi asked, confused. "Oh. Was Hunter with him?"

"No," she answered. "He was alone. Why?" She seemed to realize something. "Hunter has come between you two, hasn't he?"

"What?" he replied quickly. "How do you... What do you know?"

"Just intuition," she said, grinning. "Both you and Hunter have... an _interest_ in Dustin."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled. "Yeah, well Dustin chose Hunter."

"I see," she said, straitening a surfboard display.

He watched as she seemed to be ignoring him and turned to go again. "No one cares about me," he mumbled.

Kelly walked between Tobi and the door. "He still cares about you," she suggested before stepping aside.

"And, if I never came here, he wouldn't," he replied. "I just don't belong here. I've complicated things." He reached for the door.

"If he comes back looking for you again, what should I say?" she asked.

"Tell him... I won't get in his way." Tobi then left Storm Chargers.

* * *

This time, as he walked he heard a commotion coming from downtown. Instead of avoiding the disturbance, he found himself wandering toward it. Maybe it was because he had become so used to disturbances being caused by his sister and her friends.

People were running away, screaming and avoiding what looked like balloons. As he approached, he saw the Power Rangers fighting a balloon covered alien. When he saw Dustin take a hit, he found himself fighting the urge to run to him. Instead, Hunter helped him up and they continued fighting.

They were doing badly until Blake showed up and took the balloon alien on alone with a bladed staff weapon, which scared it off.

As the others congratulated Blake, Tori noticed Tobi watching from the distance.

When he saw them heading toward him, he instinctively turned to go.

"TZT, wait up!" Dustin called, running up to him.

Tobi turned to see Dustin's face full of concern from inside his open helmet.

"Where have you been?" Dustin asked. "You left your morpher in Hunter and Blake's bathroom so like even Cam couldn't find you."

Tobi looked down at his bare wrist and thought about the real morpher that had briefly been there. "It's not a morpher," he corrected, "and I went for a walk."

"A four hour walk?" Tori asked as the others approached him.

"You weren't, uh, with..." Shane began to ask, gesturing with his head toward Blake discretely so that Tori wouldn't notice.

"She knows about the closet," Tobi told Shane, "and I wasn't with Blake."

"You two just happen to be missing at the same time?" Shane pointed out.

"Hey!" Blake protested. "I wasn't with Tobi."

"Then where were you?" Tori asked, starting at him accusingly.

"Uh, nowhere," he answered lamely.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's get back to Ninja Ops," she suggested.

Tobi reluctantly joined them. When it came down to it, he really didn't have anywhere else to go.

* * *

Back at Ninja Ops, Cam wasn't at all pleased with Tobi's disappearance. "It's bad enough that I couldn't locate Blake," Cam scolded. "You need to keep this on you at all times," he added, forcefully handing Tobi the communicator, "especially after Lothor's goons tried kidnapping you."

"I don't think you need to worry about that happening again," Tobi pointed out.

"Why not?" Cam asked suspiciously.

"No reason," Tobi said quickly.

"Anyway, we've been having our own problems here," Cam continued. "You chose the wrong time to—"

"I'm sorry, okay!" Tobi yelled, getting sick of Cam's lecture. "And this has nothing to do with me wandering off. Look, I'm sorry I ever tried to help you out. It's all my fault I got your hopes up and they got crushed. Everything's my fault."

Cam's expression softened. "I'm sorry too," he said slowly. "I guess I did allow my expectations to go beyond what I knew inside was possible." He glanced out the corner of his glasses at Tori and sighed.

Tobi calmed down and tucked his hair behind his ears. "So, what problems have you had here?"

"Somehow Tori's morpher lost alignment with the morphing matrix," Cam explained. "Then, when I realigned the frequency manifold, the system said her morpher was in use elsewhere."

Tobi gave him a guilty look.

"But it deactivated just in time for our little fight with Inflatron," Cam continued. "Speaking of which, you guys should check this out." He said the last part loud enough to get the others' attention.

As they crowded around Cam's computer, Tobi backed away to give them room. For a moment, he felt like he was back in his own dimension, watching Dustin explain something to his fellow ninjas.

"The analysis is almost done," Cam told the others while typing. "There," he announced, looking up at the screen. "See for yourself."

The others stared blankly at the screen.

Noticing this, Cam added, "In simple terms, it seems Blake was right."

"Ah, sweet," Blake said, slapping Hunter and Shane's hands.

As Cam went on to explain Inflatron, Tobi turned around. When he did, his eyes met with Sensei's. He had obviously been watching Tobi.

"What is troubling you, Tobi?" Sensei asked.

Tobi sighed. He had never really went to the Sensei from his dimension for advice, but this Sensei was different and he sure needed some. "Sensei, if I asked you something, would you tell me the truth no matter what?" he asked.

"I will always be honest with you as I am with the others," he agreed.

Tobi was distracted briefly as Dustin said, "So, the thing was full of hot air after all," which caused everyone, including Cam to laugh. Though, Blake walked off to play with his weapon.

Tobi turned his attention back to Sensei. "Do I belong here?" he asked.

"You belong in your own dimension," Sensei said.

"I thought so," he replied, "but the thing is I never felt like I belonged there either. I mean, you—the other Sensei—never let me train to be a ninja. He said I wasn't ruthless enough and that I was too weak."

"It seems the other version of me overlooked your determination and your heart," Sensei concluded.

Tobi looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

Sensei gestured his tiny hand toward Dustin, who was now watching Blake with the others while Blake explained where he got his "Thunderblade" from. "If you put as much passion into training as you do your time with Dustin, you would make a powerful ninja," Sensei concluded.

"You think so?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"You asked for the truth," Sensei reminded him with a grin and nose twitch.

Tobi thought about becoming a ninja. "I've done a lot of practicing on my own," he explained, "but I still never became one of them. I was never a ninja. I was never a Power Ranger. I never fit in, but you say I belong there. How do you _know_ that?"

Sensei looked toward Cam, who was busy at his computer while the others talked to Blake. Blake spun the Thunderblade around, stopping with it behind his back. "Who says I haven't been?" he asked, turning and leaving Ninja Ops with a suspicious grin on his face.

"You should talk to Cam," Sensei advised Tobi. "He may be able to relate to your situation."

"What does he know about not fitting in?" Tobi asked skeptically. "Everyone relies on him."

"There was a time when he was not a Power Ranger and the others were. I was... hard on him," Sensei admitted. "He felt like he did not belong. I believe it was Tori who convinced him of his importance to the team.

"Oh," Tobi realized, watching Cam.

"Now, as the green Samurai Ranger, there is no question as to his importance and value," Sensei finished.

"Thanks, Sensei," Tobi said, turning back to the guinea pig. "I like this version of you." He smiled. "So, did you enjoy your birthday?"

"It was... interesting," he replied, "but, yes, I enjoyed it."

Tobi smiled again before heading over to Cam. "Uh, Cam," he greeted him. "Your dad explained to me how you used to feel like you didn't fit in."

Cam looked away from his screen and stared at Tobi briefly before glaring at his father. "Did he? I see," he said, turning back to look at Tobi and sighing. "Yes, it's true. Why did he feel the need to tell you _that_?"

"Only because I don't belong," Tobi replied.

"The difference is that I originated from this dimension," Cam pointed out.

"I don't just mean here," Tobi clarified. "I never fit in back in my own dimension either. I was the only non-ninja, non-Power Ranger. The only reason they put up with me was because I'm Tori's brother and no one messes with Tori."

Cam grinned. "This other Tori sounds interesting, but I know how you felt. Do you still feel that way?"

Tobi thought for a moment. "Yeah, I do, but Sensei said I might be able to become a ninja with some training."

"That is certainly possible," Cam agreed.

"And a Power Ranger too?" Tobi asked.

"That, not so much," he disagreed.

"I was wondering," Tobi began, looking at Cam's screen, "if you kept the information about where Tori's morpher was aligned."

"Yes," Cam replied, looking back at his screen and pulling up a document, "but the coordinates don't make any sense."

"Let's say," Tobi suggested, "that the coordinates point to my dimension."

"I see," Cam said, studying the screen. "Now the negative axis makes sense." He turned back to Tobi. "But why would her morpher be aligned to your dimension?"

"Nevermind that," Tobi said. "The point is, what would you do with those coordinates?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I'm not sure if my father would make me send you back or not."

Tobi looked over at the others talking amongst themselves, all but Tori who looked lost in thought. "If you had asked me a few hours ago if I wanted to go back, I'd have said, 'When can I leave?' but now I don't know. I mean, I never fit in there and yet I don't belong here."

"Just because you don't came from this dimension doesn't mean you can't belong in it," Cam suggested.

"But you wouldn't have been like you were this morning if I hadn't gotten your hopes up with Tori. She was going to end up with Blake no matter what. In fact, me being here only messed that up too."

"You can't blame yourself for everything," Cam said.

"No one else around here could be mistaken for my sister. The closet and bathroom episodes never would have happened. Haven't you noticed Blake keeps disappearing? I'm driving him away."

"I'm starting to think it's something else entirely," Cam commented.

"And then Hunter tells Dustin they're meant to be together because they met as kids without realizing it," Tobi continued. "And... Dustin said he chose him over me."

Cam gave him a sympathetic look. "I know how you feel. Believe me, I know, but had you not come here, Dustin and Hunter would probably both still be in the closet as far as their sexuality and their feelings."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "I helped drive Dustin into Hunter's arms."

"If you really love him, you'll be glad you played that role," Cam replied. "You'd want him to be happy." His eyes wandered to Tori when he said the last part.

"I guess that's true," Tobi agreed, watching Hunter flirt with Dustin, "but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"I know," Cam replied somberly, watching Tori as she began to head for the exit.

"I'm going, uh, out," she told the others, who immediately exchanged suspicious looks.

Tobi decided to catch her before she left. "You're going to follow Blake, aren't you?" he asked his sister.

She looked at Tobi guiltily. "I know that he's not going off to see you, but I still don't know what he's up to."

"I'm sorry again," Tobi apologized. "I should have told you about me and Blake in the closet. I mean..."

"No, I'm sorry," she interrupted. "I was just upset over everything."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "Tori, how come you never told me our—your mom was alive?"

"What?" she asked, caught off guard. "Oh, so she's... not in your dimension? I didn't know."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled. I guess she isn't really my mom, is she?"

"Well, no, I guess not," she admitted.

"I just wish I didn't know," he added. "Does that make sense?"

"Not really," she admitted. "I guess I've probably taken her for granted. Maybe I've taken a lot of things for granted." She looked toward the door. "But I intend to change that."

Tobi's eyes wandered to Dustin, who was talking with Hunter. "Do you believe in destiny, like in two people being destined to be together? You know, like you and Blake?"

She turned back to him. "I don't know if we're _destined_ to be together. You're talking about soul mates."

"Yeah, soul mates," he repeated.

"This has to do with Dustin again, doesn't it?" she accused. "You're wondering if he's your soul mate."

"No, actually," he disagreed. "I'm wondering if he's Hunter's soul mate."

"Why would you ask that?" she asked, confused.

"Supposedly, Dustin met Hunter when Dustin was in fourth grade and Hunter was in sixth," he explained.

"Oh!" she realized. "I remember. Then the boy in our class must have been... Blake. And I had a crush on him then too... Maybe there is something to soul mates after—Wait," she interrupted herself. "Dustin said he thought that kid—Hunter—was cute. I thought he was joking. Oh..." She gave Tobi a sympathetic look. "Tobi, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Tobi lied. "I want him to be happy."

"You deserve him more than Hunter," she said. "Hunter was a real jerk to Dustin."

"You can't make someone love you," Tobi commented.

"Or stop from loving someone," Tori added.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Guys," Cam spoke up. "I've located Inflatron. He's on the move and there's also some kind of disturbance in the woods. I recommend we take the Mobile Command Center."

"Right," Shane agreed.

"I'm going to, uh, find Blake," Tori said, leaving.

"Can I come?" Tobi asked the others as they all headed toward the exit.

Cam activated Cyber Cam and then looked to his father.

"Perhaps it is time Tobi began his training," Sensei suggested. "He will remain behind here."

"We'll catch you later," Dustin told Tobi.

"Don't you have something to tell him?" Hunter asked Dustin.

"Uh," Dustin replied nervously. "Maybe after we get back." He then headed out the others.

"It looks like it's just the three of us, party animals," Cyber Cam said. "Or party animal and party dude."

Tobi turned to Sensei. "So, what do I do first?"

Sensei somersaulted over to Cam's computer console. "Let me see," he mumbled while Cyber Cam showed him some training screens.

"Cam sure keeps some interesting files on here," Cyber Cam commented. "That Tori is a babe!"

"This will do," Sensei said.

Cyber Cam pressed a few buttons and the walls around the room started to move. When they were done, something appeared.

Tobi turned to see Cyber Dustin. "Oh, Tobi," Cyber Dustin moaned. "Let's do it now!" He then removed his shirt and tossed it aside.

Tobi stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Sensei hopped back to his corner of the room. "Let the training begin," he said.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

_

* * *

Author's Notes: Thanks _Annie_ for another review. I'm glad you like Dustin/Hunter because that looks like how it's going to go. As for TZT and Cyber Dustin being creepy, I have to admit I find it just too fun to give up. In fact, I have an idea for the opening of the next chapter. I also plan on some more drama, so I need some humor for balance. Things will work out for Cam somehow, but I wanted someone that Tobi could talk to and be on his side while Dustin chooses Hunter and in case he betrays the others._

_Thanks _Ghostwriter_ for reviewing both my stories. I can't believe how many stories you've written! With how much time I devote to writing, you'd think I'd have more to show for it. Of course, most things I start I don't do anything with._

_Thanks _YellowPrincess_ for the review. I guess everyone wants Dustin to choose Hunter. No, I'm not complaining. As for Tori, I think she'll still end up with Blake since I'm following the NS episodes as best I can (I make Tobi be off camera in shots that appear in the show). We'll see what happens with a second Tori..._


	13. Training and Tears

_Author's Notes: This chapter takes place during the end of the episode "_Double Edged Blake_." About the reviews: people actually feel sorry for Tobi? But, if Dustin ends up with Hunter (which is like a 2 to 1 or higher preference), Tobi can't not be hurt by that. I'll see what I can come up with._

_Thanks Migichalo for the review. Glad you like the story so far. Yes, Tobi was kind of jerk-ish at first, but there was a reason for that. I decided to briefly address that in this chapter._

_Thanks yellowPrincess for another review and Tobi thanks you for your comments. I too want him to be happy, but how to do that? I'll just have to see where the story goes._

_Thanks Ghostwriter for another review. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations... _

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi feels that he doesn't belong in this dimension, but he knows he didn't belong in his own dimension either. He wanders around town, running into his mother (who is alive in this dimension) and Kelly (who says Dustin was looking for him). Later, he is able to use the morpher he stole from Tori to transform into the blue Power Ranger, but his dimension's Tori shows up and he is forced to give the morpher to her. After that, he runs into the Power Rangers after a battle with a balloon alien called Inflatron. Back at Ninja Ops, Cam explains that Tori's morpher (which Tobi had secretly switched with his dimension's Tori's morpher) was aligned to Tobi's dimension but he fixed it. After a talk with Sensei that suggests Tobi could become a ninja with training, Tobi discovers that Cam can relate to his feelings of not belonging. Meanwhile, Blake leaves and Tori follows him. The others head out in the Mobile Command Center, leaving Tobi to train with Sensei and Cyber Cam. But, the training begins with Sensei activating Cyber Dustin, who begins to strip...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 13 (Training and Tears)**

* * *

"You want me to have sex with Cyber Dustin as part of ninja training?" Tobi asked Sensei while Cyber Dustin dropped his pants.

"No," Sensei stated. "That is not the purpose of the exercise."

"No one told Cyber Dustin that," Cyber Cam pointed out.

"Please do not interrupt, Cyber Cam," Sensei ordered.

Tobi watched as Cyber Dustin slid down his yellow boxers. Apparently Cam had managed to fix the layering glitch because Cyber Dustin was now standing fully naked except for his socks and fully erect. The same thing was quickly happening to Tobi. "What _is_ the purpose of this exercise?" Tobi managed to ask between quickening breaths.

"You must first learn control before you learn abilities or power," Sensei explained.

Cyber Dustin bent over to remove his socks. As he did, he exposed his virgin butt to Tobi teasingly. He then fell over and laughed at his clumsiness. When his big chocolate eyes met Tobi's, his cheeks were flushed with pink.

"First, you must focus on your breathing," Sensei told Tobi. "Take slow and steady breaths."

Tobi was trying his best, but his efforts seemed to be in vain.

"Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth," Sensei continued. "It may help to picture ocean waves."

Tobi's eyes widened as Cyber Dustin seemed to pull a container of lube out of nowhere. He then coated his finger and stuck it where the sun doesn't shine. He moaned seductively. "Tobi, I _need_ you," he begged.

"This is how you teach me how to breathe?" Tobi asked Sensei. "Why not on an empty beach?"

"One can easily summon calm and control when one's surroundings encourage it," Sensei pointed out. "The challenge is to be able to summon them when faced with circumstances that threaten to break such control."

Cyber Dustin grew impatient and walked over to Tobi. "I, uh, can understand your reasoning," Tobi told Sensei while Cyber Dustin breathed on his face and smiled. He leaned forward and kissed Tobi. Cyber Dustin's lips felt like they were on fire and Tobi felt himself falling into his open mouth.

"Do not let him rob you of your control," Sensei warned. "And remember your breathing."

Tobi broke away from the kiss and gasped before trying to steady his breathing.

Cyber Dustin blushed and looked a little flustered, but he still pressed his naked body against Tobi.

Tobi's breathing began to steady as he watched Cyber Dustin's face and stared into his eyes. If he focused just on Dustin's beauty, he could control his breathing easier.

"Very good," Sensei praised. "Cyber Cam, you may increase the difficulty."

Cyber Dustin immediately yanked down Tobi's shorts and plunged his head between his legs.

"Gah!" Tobi gasped at the new sensation.

Sensei somersaulted back over to Cam's computer consol. "No, try this," he argued with Cyber Cam. He turned back to Tobi briefly. "Remember your breathing," he advised.

Tobi instinctively ran his fingers through Cyber Dustin's wavy dark chocolate hair and moaned.

"I don't think that's the button, little furry dude," Cyber Cam warned Sensei.

Suddenly, just as Tobi felt his release, Cyber Dustin vanished. Tobi's disappointment was short lived as he noticed that the liquid that had left his body hovered in the air momentarily. He focused on it and the fluid began to take shape until his concentration broke and it spattered to the floor. "Did you see that?" he asked.

"I did and I am so in need of a memory wipe right about now," Cyber Cam commented.

"It may be that, as Tori's twin, you also have a gift at controlling water—or liquids," Sensei theorized. "It may then be beneficial to begin our training in that area. And, Tobi, please pull your shorts up."

Tobi reached down and returned his shorts to their rightful place.

"Let us next move on to basic combat," Sensei said, again studying Cam's screen.

"Let's activate this one!" Cyber Cam said, pressing a button.

Suddenly a Cyber Tori appeared. "Oh, Cam," she moaned. "Let's do it now!" Obviously dialog was not one of Cam's strong suits. Cyber Tori then began stripping.

"Here, let us try this," Sensei said and Cyber Tori began redressing. She then took on a fighting stance.

"You want me to fight my sister?" Tobi asked.

"No," Sensei replied. "You will only be practicing blocking. It is essential to learn how to avoid attacks before engaging in them. You said that you have practiced some combat, so please begin."

Cyber Cam pressed a button and Cyber Tori began attacking. Tobi easily blocked or dodged her attacks at first, but she seemed to learn and adapt quickly. Tobi dodged a punch only moments before she went for a sweeping kick. Tobi flipped backward, only to find himself cornered. As she went in for the kill, he ducked suddenly and slid forward, causing her to trip over him.

"Excellent," Sensei congratulated him.

The momentary distraction caused Tobi to miss a 360 degree spin kick that sent him flying against the wall.

Cyber Tori hadn't even broken a sweat, but before she could add insult to injury, she vanished.

Tobi stood up and caught his breath, clutching his side.

"We will now move on to focused attacks," Sensei said. "You did quite well with defense."

"Yeah, it was easier to focus after… relieving myself," Tobi said.

"Are you certain it was not the breathing exercises?" Sensei suggested.

"Maybe a little," Tobi offered for Sensei's sake.

Sensei turned back to the screen. "I have a clue who his opponent should be," Cyber Cam suggested.

Suddenly a Cyber Hunter appeared and immediately took up a fighting stance.

"Bow to your opponent," Sensei commanded.

Tobi bowed before looking back at Cyber Hunter.

Cyber Hunter was the first to attack, but once Tobi began his attacks, Cyber Hunter proceeded to mostly block and avoid his attacks versus fight back. Tobi got in a few good kicks and punches, but nothing seemed to phase Cyber Hunter at all.

"Hey," Tobi protested. "How am I supposed to know if my moves work if nothing effects Cyber Hunter?"

"Cyber Hunter's programmed to respond to your attacks," Cyber Cam explained, "if they're not totally _weak_."

"Hey!" Tobi yelled, giving Cyber Hunter yet another completely ineffective punch.

"This doohickey measures the force of your attacks and, if they were any weaker, you'd be a girl," Cyber Cam said.

"Be glad Tori is not present to hear you say that," Sensei advised.

"What am I doing wrong?" Tobi asked, now covered in sweat.

Suddenly Cyber Hunter vanished and Tobi fell to the floor and rested.

"You seem to be holding yourself back when it comes to offensive moves," Sensei noticed. "Perhaps it was your opponent."

"No, I have nothing to hold back with Hunter," Tobi disagreed.

"Perhaps you do," Sensei suggested.

Tobi thought as he caught his breath. "Maybe," he finally admitted. "I mean, I guess if Dustin really likes him and is happy with him and he's not a horrible person. He's just... not me."

"Then let us pick something a bit more neutral," Sensei said.

"What? More?" Tobi complained just as a Cyber Kelzak appeared. He groaned and stood up.

The Cyber Kelzak did a lot of moving about, but its attacks were nothing that special. Still, Tobi found that his punches and kicks did nothing.

A beeping sound came from Cam's computer. Cyber Cam pressed a series of buttons. "Shane, Dustin and Hunter have engaged Motodrone, Shimazu and Zurgane," he said. "That's a lot of bad dudes. Don't they know three's a crowd?"

Suddenly Tobi heard a crash. His attention had momentarily gone to the screen when he heard Dustin's name and that he was in a battle, but when he looked back at the Cyber Kelzak, he noticed it was upside down on the other side of the room. "How'd that happen?" he asked.

"Interesting," Sensei said. "When you were distracted, you seemed to be able to channel your strength. Perhaps learning focus is not the best approach in your case.

"I think it's because he was worried about Dustin," Cyber Cam suggested.

"Another possibility," Sensei agreed. He turned back to the screen and worked with Cyber Cam on something.

When Tobi looked back to the center of the room, several Cyber Kelzaks had appeared. Three of them were holding Cyber Dustin prisoner. Cyber Dustin looked up at him with his burning eyes and called out to him.

The first Cyber Kelzak moved toward Tobi but he just threw it aside. He then approached the three surrounding Cyber Dustin and knocked them on their heads, kicked their chests and slammed them into each other. Only moments later, the floor was littered with Cyber Kelzaks and Cyber Dustin was hugging Tobi and giving him a congratulatory kiss.

"Gotta say, I never saw that coming," Cyber Cam commented.

"We must work on channeling this passion," Sensei mused. "Once harnessed and controlled, your abilities may prove invaluable in confrontations in the future."

"So, when do I become a ninja?" Tobi asked, pulling away from Cyber Dustin's kiss and holding him around the waist.

"It seems you already are a ninja on the outside," Sensei stated.

"Really?" Tobi asked excitedly.

"Next we work on your inner ninja," Sensei continued.

"My what?" Tobi asked.

"Doesn't Lothor know, the bigger they are, the easier they are to pop?" Cyber Cam asked.

"It seems the others have teamed up to take on Inflatron and the system resources will be needed," Sensei said, glancing at the screen. "Perhaps it is time to take a break. Although I am impressed with your flexibility, it would not be advisable for Dustin to witness you in that position."

"We weren't going to go all the way!" Tobi protested, pulling up his shorts and Cyber Dustin's pants moments before Cyber Dustin and the Cyber Kelzaks vanished.

"We will work on your inner ninja later," Sensei said. "For now, perhaps a shower would remove the smell."

"Smell?" Tobi sniffed his armpits. "Ah! Yeah, I'll, uh, be back."

* * *

After showering, Tobi entered Ninja Ops with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Hey, Cyber Cam, where does Cam keep his clean clothes?" he asked.

"Cyber Cam is busy," Sensei answered for him.

Tobi looked over toward the screen in front of Cyber Cam and saw a whole bunch of Zords. "Whose Zords are those?" he asked, approaching the screen.

"Ours," was all Cyber Cam said as he continued pressing a series of buttons. The screen showed a series of power transfer beams between schematic versions of the Zords on the live screen.

"I thought all the Zords were destroyed," Tobi said, studying the screen.

"The Zords in your dimension were destroyed?" Sensei asked, hopping closer.

"Yeah, of course," Tobi replied. "And no one is allowed to make new ones. Not even Dustin—the Dustin from back in my dimension—would do that. They could destroy the whole city and then stomp on to the next. You guys are supposedly the 'good guys' and you use them?"

"The rangers never escalate a fight unless Lothor does so first," Sensei explained.

"All of this just because Lothor wants to become mayor?" Tobi asked.

"Lothor wants to take over the world," Sensei said. "He simply focuses on Blue Bay Harbor because he wants to defeat the Power Rangers and this is where I am."

"Why you?" Tobi asked.

"He is my twin brother and he swore revenge after I tried to stop him in the past," Sensei explained.

"Lothor is your twin brother? I wonder if the same is true back in the other dimension," he pondered before noticing something on the screen. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Cyber Cam asked.

"There was a power spike on the map over at the beach," Tobi said, pointing.

"Probably a random power flux," Cyber Cam suggested. "Lothor's really stepping it up a notch with balloon dude. It's taking everything we've got to bring this guy down."

Suddenly a huge flash filled the screen as Inflatron was destroyed. At that exact moment, another random power flux hit the same area of the beach. Although Cyber Cam insisted it was nothing, Tobi couldn't help but suspect it was something more. If he didn't know better, he would even say Inflatron had been a giant distraction for something else.

A moment later, the group returned. They looked at Tobi strangely and then he realized he was still just in a towel. "Welcome back," he greeted quickly. "Cam, where do you keep your clean clothes? Unless of course Dustin has some he can loan me," he added, grinning toward Dustin.

"I thought you said clean clothes," Cam said, giving a sideways glance to Dustin.

"Hey!" Dustin protested. "I have clean clothes!"

Tobi walked up to Dustin. After Cyber Dustin, for some reason he felt closer to Dustin. He had to remind himself that they weren't the same. It helped when he spotted a subtle difference between Cyber Dustin and the real Dustin. The real Dustin had longer eyelashes. They were a dark chocolate color like his eyebrows and hair. Tobi licked his lips.

Meanwhile, Dustin was nervously looking Tobi up and down.

"I think you need to tell him _now_," Hunter said, leaning between Tobi and Dustin.

"Right," Dustin gulped. "Maybe we should go in the other room."

Hunter gave him a skeptical look. "Cam, why don't you find Tobi something to wear that won't 'accidentally' fall down," he suggested, turning to Cam, who was deactivating Cyber Cam.

"Alright," Cam agreed. "This way," he gestured to Tobi.

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to someone," Blake said, heading for the exit.

Naturally, Tori followed him out. The others exchanged looks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cam led Tobi to a room he had off of the main room of Ninja Ops.

"I don't want to sound picky, but do you have any colors besides green?" Tobi asked, looking around Cam's room. It was immaculately clean to the point that it didn't look lived in. The bed was made and the desk empty of everything but a framed photo.

"I'll see what I can find," Cam offered, "but are you still trying to impress Dustin? Based on what you said about him choosing Hunter, I can only assume he wants to talk to you to let you down easy."

"Yeah, I know," Tobi replied somberly, "but I still like gold and blue more than green.

"You do realize that yellow and blue make green," Cam pointed out while searching through his closet.

"Oh, yeah, you're right," he said, picking up the photo. "I guess you don't spend much time in here. It seems kinda... sparse."

"I spend most of my time working," Cam replied, peaking out and noticing Tobi put back the photo. "I was able to meet her."

"What?" Tobi asked, turning around.

"My mother," Cam clarified. "I used a scroll to travel back in time. There were so many things I wanted to ask her though. But that's how I became the Samurai ranger.

"I don't understand," Tobi admitted.

"I guess it's a long story," Cam said, turning back to his clothes. "I'll tell you some other time. The point is, I miss her."

"Yeah, I miss my mom too," Tobi agreed, "but I saw her this morning and it didn't help at all. Somehow knowing she had never known me made it like losing her to the Zord attack all over again."

Cam turned back to Tobi, a confused look on his face. "Your mother is dead too? I mean, back in your dimension?"

"Too?" Tobi asked. "Your mom just couldn't handle the whole grumpy guinea pig version of your dad and left him."

Cam studied his expression for a moment. "No, she died a long time ago." He paused. "What's she like?"

"Independent and headstrong," Tobi replied.

"I see," Cam said, looking down in thought before looking up again. "And Hunter and Blake's parents?"

"What about them?" Tobi asked.

"Are they alive?" Cam clarified.

"Yeah," Tobi answered. "They're ninjas too."

Cam looked lost in thought again until he shook it off and returned to the closet. "I've been wondering if the versions of us you describe in your dimension are naturally different or if it's just that circumstances in the past were different and that changed them."

"Uh, I don't know," Tobi shrugged.

"Here, try these on," Cam said, holding a pair of blue jeans. "I haven't actually ever seen you in pants."

"I like to let my... equipment breathe," Tobi explained. "Hey! Can I have a ninja training outfit?"

"There were a bunch of spares back at the academy before it was destroyed," Cam replied. "I'll see what I can find, but you'll still need some casual clothes. When you trained with my father, what element did he say you tended toward?"

"He thinks water, like my sister," Tobi answered, dropping his towel and trying on the jeans.

"Here," Cam said, handing him a pair of white briefs. "Put these on first. Jeans are not like shorts. You'll need the padding."

"Thanks," Tobi replied, putting on the briefs.

"You certainly aren't shy," Cam commented.

"I guess I'm getting used to everyone seeing me naked at some point or another," Tobi explained.

"Uh, sure," Cam said, shaking his head and pulling a teal polo shirt from the closet.

"Nothing in yellow?" Tobi asked, pulling up his jeans.

"No," Cam replied. "Besides, they match your eyes. Like Tori, you have little specks of teal near your irises."

Tobi gave him a surprised look. "Thanks," he said, putting on the shirt. "Do you always notice other guy's eyes?"

Cam grinned nervously and blushed. "Only when they remind me of their sister." He laughed a little.

Tobi took a breath. "I guess it's time to get this over with," he said, slipping on his sandals.

* * *

Tobi returned to the main room of Ninja Ops to find Shane and Dustin talking while Hunter watched them with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Tobi asked Dustin, already knowing exactly what he was going to say.

Dustin looked from Shane to Tobi as he entered and smiled. "You changed, dude," he said, standing and approaching him. "I haven't seen you in this much before. It's always like you're showing off your body, but I like this you." His smile melted Tobi's heart and he started to lose the resolve that came from already knowing what Dustin was going to tell him.

"Is my body really that bad?" Tobi asked.

"No," Dustin replied, blushing. "I... I like it a lot." He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "You're no Hunter though, TZT," he added with a laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tobi asked defensively.

"I, uh, just mean he has more muscles," Dustin nervously explained.

"Hunter," Shane addressed, "why don't we go outside?"

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, giving Dustin one last look.

"I need to go over today's battle with Cam," Sensei said, hopping off.

Once alone, Dustin sighed and looked into Tobi's eyes. "Hey, your shirt kinda matches your eyes."

Tobi blushed. "Yeah, thanks."

Dustin fidgeted a bit. "You know, when I said you changed, I didn't just mean like your clothes. You're different than when we first met."

Tobi gave him a surprised look before realizing that he had changed. He remembered something his sister said on his first day in this dimension. "I'm starting to think the whole tough guy thing is just an act," Tori had accused. "Maybe you had to be that way before, but you don't now." He had replied, "I don't know what you're talking about. I _am_ tough." So, he had changed. He had let his guard down and it had left him hurt. "Yeah," he agreed somberly.

Dustin had this lost and frightened look in his eyes. "TZT, I..." he mumbled, biting his bottom lip.

Tobi watched the struggle in Dustin's eyes. "Here, let's sit down," he offered, leading him to a spot on the floor near the table.

"Thanks," Dustin mumbled, looking back at Tobi. "Dude, I want you to know..." Then he looked down and Tobi noticed a tear streak down his cheek.

Instinctively, Tobi put an arm around Dustin's shoulders. He knew he couldn't make Dustin go through with this, so he sat on his knees directly in front of him. "Dustin," he began, "I know you chose."

Dustin looked up at him with wide, shinny surprised eyes.

"I said you were going to have to choose," Tobi continued.

"But I... I didn't choose you," Dustin said slowly. "I'm... sorry." Several tears began falling from his brown eyes.

"No, Dustin," Tobi said, holding his face and wiping away his tears. "I... I want you to be happy. And, if that's what Hunter does for you, then... then he's very lucky." Now it was time for Tobi's eyes to fill with tears.

"TZT," Dustin said slowly, the gold in his eyes burning into Tobi's soul. "I like you a lot. You can be kind of crazy, dude, but that's like who you are and you're like me sometimes, but..."

"Yeah, but..." Tobi repeated.

Dustin looked down and studied his hands. "I met Hunter when we were kids and I like didn't even know that and now Hunter's like, 'It's destiny!' but I don't know if _that's_ what convinced me. He has a good explanation and all, like how we all liked these colors and we end up becoming Power Rangers of those colors. It can't be coincidence. But, yeah... It was when Hunter said I was exactly what he needed and I realized..." He looked back up at Tobi. "I like you a lot. You're funny and you get kind of geeky sometimes or insecure."

"But..." Tobi said again.

Dustin sighed and wiped his eyes. "But I thought about that, about who I need and I need someone... I need someone different than me. I need someone I can get advise from and who I can count on and won't get all flaky like me sometimes."

"How do you know he won't?" Tobi asked. When Dustin gave him a surprised look, he realized the desperation in his voice. "I'm sorry," he said. "I am glad you're happy. I just... I wish it was me."

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled. He looked into Tobi's eyes and leaned forward. With his hand, he held Tobi's chin and tilted their heads. He kissed Tobi slowly and softly on the lips and then pulled away.

Tobi had a shocked expression on his face, which made Dustin grin with satisfaction.

"You'll find somebody, TZT," Dustin told him. "I know you will. And, if he doesn't treat you right, I'll kick his butt."

"I..." Tobi mumbled. Inside, his mind screamed, "I love you Dustin!" but he held it in. Instead he asked, "We can still be friends, right?"

"Of course," Dustin said with a smile.

"I'm glad," Tobi said, staring into Dustin's eyes. "Did I ever tell you that you make me crave chocolate?"

Dustin gave him a confused look.

"Milk chocolate skin, dark chocolate hair, chocolate caramel cream eyes," he listed off. Seeing Dustin's confused expression, he added, "Nevermind. I bet Hunter's out there missing you right now."

"Probably," Dustin said teasingly.

"Don't torture him too much," Tobi warned, standing.

Dustin stood to join him. "I like make no promises, dude," he said with a laugh before stopping to study Tobi's face. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah," Tobi lied. "I said I'm glad you're happy."

Dustin reached up and ran a finger over Tobi's lips and then let his hand brush down his hair. "I... I wish I… You'll find somebody who can love you back."

Tobi felt his breath catch in his throat. "Go on!" he insisted. "Before Hunter starts making out with Shane."

Dustin grinned and headed for the exit. "See you later, TZT," he said before vanishing.

The moment he was gone, Tobi let the flood of emotions that he had been holding back pour out. He found himself crying so hard that he couldn't even feel the tears running down his cheeks. It was when he felt a mist on his face that he opened his eyes. His tears were not falling but instead evaporating into a cloud that hovered around him.

The strange occurrence distracted him long enough to notice a beeping coming from Cam's computer. He glanced over at the map still on the screen and saw a power fluctuation near the beach, but he also saw something else. Based on the display next to the map, he recognized that the symbols were Blake and Tori. They were at the beach not that far from the strange power flux.

He wiped the mist from his face and raised the communicator attached to his wrist. "Tori?" he asked.

"I'm here," her voice replied, a hint of laughter behind it.

"Is everything alright over there?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Tori replied. "The woman who I saw yesterday was Leanne, a Thunder Ninja Academy graduate who was training Blake how to use the Thunderblade. I told him I was sorry for following him. Actually, he said it was kind of cute, me being jealous—not that I was jealous," she quickly added.

"So, nothing out of the ordinary there?" Tobi asked, still watching the screen. A third symbol formed next to Blake and Tori.

"Nope," she said. "Just messing around with Blake, who—" Her voice cut out and a series of strange sounds came from the communicator.

"Get back!" Blake's voice ordered. Several zapping sounds followed.

"Cam!" Tobi called. "Cam! Get in here now!"

Cam came rushing into the main room of Ninja Ops from the back. "What's' wrong?" he asked.

"Tori and Blake are in trouble," Tobi said, holding out his left arm. A few short indistinguishable sounds came from the communicator before it cut out entirely and only silence could be heard.

Cam immediately sat down in front of his computer and began typing away quickly. A file popped open suddenly. "Not now!" he yelled at the screen.

"Why did that open?" Tobi asked.

"I have no idea," Cam replied. "I'm trying to find Tori and..." he studied the document. "The axis coordinates are no longer negative."

"Huh?' Tobi said, leaning over Cam's chair.

"The coordinates to your dimension now point to a specific location in our dimension," Cam explained, "to the beach, right were they were..."

"It's a rift between the two dimensions," Tobi realized.

"I don't know how you know that," Cam said, "but I think you're right. There is a detail you're overlooked though. Get the others and bring them in here quick. We're in trouble."

At that moment, the screen went black and the room became pitch black.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	14. The Dimensional Dilemma

_Author's Notes: This chapter lacks my usual perverse humor and instead focuses on trying to further the story. I hope you like it (bites nails nervously)._

_Thanks _YellowPrincess_ for becoming a regular reviewer of my story. I really appreciate it! In exchange, I have considered how to pair Hunter with Tori and possible consequences. In my thinking about that, I came up with something that will significantly affect the dynamics between Tori and Blake. Now, at the end of this chapter, you may want to hit me with something really heavy, but just bear with me. It's not necessarily what it looks like at first glance._

_Thanks _Magichalo_ for another review. So sad for Tobi but yay for Dustin/Hunter? Well, isn't that how it goes? I'm really not sure what will happen exactly, but I think that relationships may get a bit complicated when I introduce the other versions of the Power Rangers. As for him controlling water, it's supposed to be a bit weird (beyond my perverse humor) for a reason that I'll reveal later. Let's just say that water may not be his element, just something he absorbed after the morpher swap._

_Thanks _cancermoon_ for reviewing my story. I'm glad you like it so far. I will try to continue Tobi's internal struggles, but I honestly don't yet know how to make things work out for him. Anyway, on to the story..._

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Sensei uses Cyber Dustin to train Tobi in how to practice control under difficult situations (such as getting a blow job) Tobi does well with defensive moves, but his attacks are weak unless he feels that Dustin is in danger. Only then can he channel his powers. Meanwhile, Inflatron is defeated but Tobi notices a disturbance at the beach that Cyber Cam says is nothing. After a shower, Cam finds some clothes for Tobi and the two discuss who is alive and who is dead in each dimension and Cam wonders if the other versions of each of them are naturally different or if they became different because of differences in each dimension's past. Later, Dustin tells Tobi he didn't choose him, but still like him and wants the best for him. Tobi says he's fine and wants Dustin too be happy but bursts into tears the moment Dustin leaves. After the misting of his tears distracts him, Tobi discovers that Tori and Blake are in danger at the beach. Cam discovers a rift between the two dimensions just before the power goes out in Ninja Ops...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 14 (The Dimensional Dilemma)**

* * *

"What happened?" Tobi called out into the darkness.

"An EM pulse refracted through the portal," Cam's voice explained. "Give it a moment."

"A moment to—?" Tobi began just as the lights in Ninja Ops came back on.

"What is happening, son?" Sensei asked, hopping over to Cam.

"I'll explain once everyone else is here," Cam said quickly while pulling open a circuit panel under his still inactive computer screen. "Tobi, get the others."

Tobi shook off his confusion and ran outside. Fortunately Shane, Hunter and Dustin were standing nearby. "Cam needs you guys inside, now!" he shouted.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, but Tobi had already returned to Ninja Ops.

"Tori?" he asked his communicator, but with no response.

"Even if she were okay, that won't work," Cam said, working on rewiring something in his hands.

Just then, the others entered Ninja Ops.

"What's wrong, Cam?" Shane immediately asked. "Did Ninja Ops crash again?"

Cam put down what he was working on and sat facing the others. "Tori and Blake are in trouble," he began.

"Then let's go!" Dustin immediately declared.

"Wait," Cam demanded. "There's more. I think they may have been kidnapped by either Lothor or by someone from Tobi's dimension."

"What?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"Blake," Hunter called to his morpher. "Bro, are you okay?"

"As I was telling Tobi," Cam said with an exasperated sigh, "that won't work. Lothor used remains of Goldwinger to tear a fissure between our dimension and Tobi's. I can only assume he's trying to bring over the other Power Rangers."

"Evil Power Rangers?" Shane asked.

"Exactly," Cam replied, earning him a glare from Tobi.

"Dude, I still don't get why we're waiting around here," Dustin added.

"The fissure is unstable," Cam continued. "It created an electromagnetic shock wave that swept over the city and when it reached the other side of the portal, it refracted through. Ninja Ops is essentially out of commission until I get things up and running again."

"Meaning...?" Shane prompted.

"Meaning, we can't communicate and," Cam took a breath, "most of all, we can't morph."

There were groans from the others.

"What about the thunder morpher?" Hunter asked.

"If you were anywhere on this side of the portal, it's affected too," Cam answered.

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form," Hunter called, but nothing happened.

Cam gave him an "I told you so" look before continuing. "That may not be so bad if at least one of my theories holds true though."

"What's that?" Shane asked.

"Tori told me that she couldn't morph while in Tobi's dimension," Cam explained. "I think it's because her morpher was aligned to this dimension. Even though it's been days since she's been back, her morpher just recently somehow aligned itself to the other dimension. If the other Power Rangers are here and their morphers somehow align to this dimension, they'll be able to morph and we won't."

The others exchanged looks. Tobi kept his mouth shut, but he knew Tori's morpher hadn't realigned itself so there was no chance of it happening for the other Power Rangers. They'd need to know the coordinates for this dimension and they didn't have access to that info. Or did they? Suddenly Tobi gasped. He had given the other Tori a morpher pre-aligned to this dimension. If the other Power Rangers figured that out...

"Since there's only one morphing matrix in each dimension," Cam continued, oblivious to Tobi's realization, "whoever morphs first cancels out their counterpart."

"I don't know about the others, but I'm totally lost," Dustin admitted.

"That means, Dustin," Cam explained, "that only one yellow Power Ranger can morph at a time. If the other version of you morphs first, you won't be able to morph because they're currently morphed. The same applies for all of us. Therefore our goal should be to morph the moment I get Ninja Ops operational. I'm not even going to try to fix the Zords or holographic portals because our Zords may be used against us. Timing will be critical. I need you all here at least until I've restored communication."

"Right," Shane agreed, looking at the others, who nodded. He then looked at Tobi. "I thought Hunter would be the one to ask this, but can we trust Tobi if his... friends are here?"

"Hey!" Tobi immediately protested.

"I believe it is a fair question to ask where your loyalties lie," Sensei told Tobi.

"Sensei," Dustin spoke up, "I know everyone thinks I'm like too trusting, but I _know_ we can trust Tobi." He looked at Tobi and noticed something that caused him to give Tobi a concerned look.

Tobi gave him a weak smile, realizing his eyes were probably still red from crying.

"I agree with Dustin on this one," Hunter said, which earned him a surprised look from everyone else. "He may be obnoxious," Hunter quickly added, "but he has certain... _loyalties_ to us." He looked at Dustin.

"I agree with Hunter's assessment of Tobi being obnoxious," Cam said, a grin making it obvious he wasn't completely serious, "but his heart's in the right place."

Tobi couldn't help but feel guilty over swapping morphers with Tori. Sure, he had a loyalty to his own dimension and his own sister, but none of them would stand up for him so easily the way this dimension's Power Rangers were now. "Thanks," he managed to tell them. "I wish I had been born in this dimension. Maybe then, things would be different." He glanced at Dustin.

"Cam," Hunter addressed, "why didn't this happen before when Tori went to Tobi's dimension?"

"Originally, Goldwinger created a transdimensional vortex," Cam explained. "This is more of a tear between the dimensions."

"So, we rescue Tori and Blake first and then seal the thing," Shane concluded.

"Since I have no intention of closing the fissure while the other versions of us are still here, I agree with Shane's priorities," Cam said. "I'll get the main systems online, we all morph and I'll have Cyber Cam work on computer simulations to determine how to seal the tear, but I need to tell you one more thing." He paused, an uneasy look in his eyes. "The fissure is unstable and it will keep expanding until either I find a way to seal it or it... destroys both our dimensions."

"What!" everyone shouted.

"Could it really do that?" Hunter asked.

"Yes," Cam said flatly. "Now, I need to get to work."

* * *

Cam repaired Hunter's morpher first and had him stay morphed. The others would need Ninja Ops up and running to work. So, everyone was quiet while Cam proceeded to repair Ninja Ops' computer systems. But, after a while, the group became restless. Hunter opened his visor and he and Dustin started to talk about modifications they had made to their bikes. Shane turned to Tobi and asked the first thing that came to his mind. "What's the other version of me like?" he asked.

Tobi thought for a moment. "Angry, dark," were the first two things that came to his mind. "He growls a lot and tries to get Hunter to laugh at his taunts."

"So, he's... evil?" Shane asked.

"I don't know," Tobi admitted. "The only person who really called us—I mean, them—" he quickly corrected, "evil was Dustin." He laughed at a memory. "Like he'd say, 'My evil weapon is ready,' and I'd be like, 'By your evil weapon, do you mean your big—"

"I get the picture," Shane interrupted. "But, if we were in a battle with _them_, whose side would you be on?"

"I don't know," Tobi admitted again. "It's not like it would matter anyway."

"You got a point there, dude," Shane said with a laugh.

"Sensei says I'm already a ninja on the outside," Tobi defended. "I just need to work on my 'inner ninja.'"

"Really?" Shane asked, surprised. He looked over at Sensei, who was talking to Cam.

Cam glanced toward Tobi and he knew that Sensei was talking to Cam about the possibility of sending him back with the other rangers and sealing the hole. The thought made him question his loyalties all over again. It was his dimension and those were his sister's friends, but something about this dimension made him willing to give it all up, even if it meant he'd never go back. Still, no matter how much better he fit in here, if he stayed he'd forever be reminded that the quirky, silly Dustin of this dimension had chosen Hunter over him. Because he hadn't really been faced with the immediate choice of leaving but had instead felt stranded until now, he had been able to put off facing the possibility and really dealing with it.

His thoughts were interrupted when Cam announced that the communications were online. He then turned to his father.

"Each of you should remain in constant contact," Sensei advised. "The three of you should go scout out the area, but do not engage any enemies, whether they are able to morph or not. Shane and Dustin, the moment Cam gives the signal, you will need to activate your Wind Morphers. Remember, you still have your ninja powers."

"Right," the others agreed before leaving quickly.

"What about me?" Tobi asked.

"At present, there is not much you can do, Tobi," Sensei told him.

"We're at the beach," came Shane's voice from Cam's morpher only moments after leaving.

Cam stopped working to ask, "What do you see?"

"Nothing," Shane answered.

"Keep looking," Cam advised, going back to work.

"Guys, spit up," Shane's voice told the others.

"I think I know where they are," Hunter's voice said.

"Hunter, wait!" Dustin's voice called.

"What's happening?" Cam asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"I think Hunter's going to Lothor's ship," Dustin answered.

"Hunter," Cam called. "Sensei told you not to engage the enemy."

"I'm the only one who can morph," Hunter whispered before making a "shhh" sound.

Cam shook his head in frustration.

"I think I found that tear you were talking about," Shane's voice announced.

"How bad is it?" Cam asked.

"It looks like a big glowing crack," Shane replied. "It's about twenty feet tall, maybe bigger because it's in the water."

"I almost have the main systems repaired," Cam told his morpher. "Are you two ready?"

"Yeah," Shane and Dustin agreed.

"Okay," Cam said, reaching for a button. "Morph... now!" he instantly activated his own morpher.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger—Ah!" Dustin's voice cried. A blasting sound came from the morpher.

"Dustin, Shane!" Cam called.

"I'm okay," Shane replied. "I morphed right away."

"Dustin?" Cam asked, but there was no reply.

"I'm on it," Shane said.

Tobi stared at the scene unfolding before him. Both Cam and Sensei were too occupied to notice Tobi run out of Ninja Ops. He left through the portal and away from the waterfall as fast as he could toward the beach. The trees around him seemed to become blurs and he realized he was somehow streaking like a ninja.

He arrived at the beach in no time and looked around. "What are you doing here?" a voice called. He turned to see Shane in his red Power Ranger suit running up to him.

"Where's Dustin?" Tobi asked quickly.

"I think we can answer that one," a female voice announced. Both Tobi and Shane looked up to see Marah and Kapri with Dustin.

Dustin looked unconscious and Marah was holding his morpher in her hand.

"It's simple," Kapri said. "You give us your morpher and we give you your yellow ranger."

"Why the morphers?" Shane asked. "Cam can just build new ones."

"Our cousin won't be fast enough," Kapri insisted.

"Hey, wasn't there another red—or reddish—ranger?" Marah asked.

"Yeah, he's behind you," Shane said.

"You don't expect us to fall for—" Kapri began as a foot connected with her back.

Marah was the next to fall as Hunter kicked the morpher from her hand. Tori and Blake were with him, both also morphed.

Tobi immediately ran up to Dustin just as Zurgane appeared and Shane took him on. "Dustin," Tobi called, shaking him. "Wake up!"

"Wha—What happened?" Dustin asked, looking around disoriented.

"Dustin!" Hunter called. "Heads up!"

A morpher landed on Dustin's chest. He blinked for a moment before strapping it on, standing and morphing. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" he called. "Power of Earth!"

Suddenly a bike shot across the sandy beach. It began firing at the rangers. On it was Motodrone.

"Tobi, get out of here!" Shane cried, dodging an attack from Zurgane as the others avoided blasts from Motodrone.

Zap! Dustin was thrown backward from a shot and Tobi immediately started to run over to him, but an explosion in front of him forced him to stop. Hunter reached Dustin first, but was also blasted.

"Hunter!" Dustin called, getting up.

Just then, a green streak appeared. It was Cam in his Samurai Power Ranger suit. He immediately flew around, slashing at Lothor's henchmen. "Get the others back to Ninja Ops!" he called out.

The others managed to grab Tobi and streak off, despite their injuries. Once they were gone, Cam was quick to follow suit.

* * *

Back at Ninja Ops, the others caught their breath. "Why'd we run from the fight?" Shane asked. "Isn't that their job?"

"One must always know when to fight and when to walk away," Sensei advised.

"You're welcome," Cam said impatiently. "We're in no condition for a fight right now. And, since I haven't been able to reinitialize Cyber Cam or the emergency transport, I can't keep coming to your rescue. I need to find a way to seal the dimensional fissure as soon as possible."

"We almost had those guys before you showed up," Dustin insisted.

"Dude, you were unconscious and Marah had your morpher," Shane pointed out.

Cam sighed loudly. "So, did you encounter any alternative versions of yourselves?" he asked.

The others looked at Blake and Tori. "No," Blake answered. "I only saw Lothor's goons." He looked over at Tori. "Did you see anyone while we were separated?"

Tori shook her head.

"Same here," Hunter agreed.

"Well, it looks like we got lucky," Cam said. "They may not have been able to bring the others over yet. Which means, I need to find a way to seal the fissure ASAP."

"What can we do to help?" Shane offered.

"You can leave me alone to work," Cam replied, beginning his work.

The others exchanged looks.

"Cam is under some strain," Sensei explained, "but it would be best if you give him what he is asking for right now."

"Like, where can we go?" Dustin asked. "I can't go home in this."

Cam turned from his work. "I'm now able to monitor any fluctuations in the dimensional threshold," he told them.

"Huh?" the others asked.

"I can tell if anyone enters our dimension," he explained. "You can demorph until I tell you to morph again, but you must morph immediately when I tell you to."

"Right," the others agreed.

"I'll stay morphed and scope out the area," Shane offered before adding to Sensei. "Don't worry, I won't engage, only check things out."

Sensei nodded and Shane left.

Blake demorphed and turned to Tori. "Since we can't go back to the beach, what did you wanna do?"

Tori followed suit and demorphed. "We could always go back to my place," she said in an uncharacteristically seductive tone.

"But what about your mom?" Blake asked.

She gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"I just thought you meant you wanted to..." he trailed off.

"Oh, I do," she replied, grinning.

"Don't worry about it, bro," Hunter chimed in. "You two can go back to our place. I'll... find something else to occupy me." He looked at Dustin.

"Thanks, bro," Blake said with a wide smile. He then stood up and left with Tori. Before she left, she gave Tobi a wink.

Tobi wondered if that meant she was finally going to have sex with Blake. He looked over to Cam, but he was too busy to have witnessed the sexual tension.

Hunter and Dustin were next to demorph. "So, what'd you want to do now?" Dustin asked Hunter.

"I can think of a few things," Hunter replied, giving him a suggestive look.

Dustin laughed nervously. "I know what you're thinking, but I still want my first time to be with a girl."

Hunter gave him a confused look. "But why?"

"You did it with a girl," Dustin pointed out. "And..." He grimaced nervously. "And I don't want to be like _totally_ weird."

Hunter looked down. "If I had stayed a virgin—"

"I don't think that would've changed anything, dude," Dustin interrupted. He looked at Hunter and Tobi could see the emotions playing out in his eyes. He was afraid to really commit all the way with him. "I know you love me, but..." But Dustin still didn't love anyone yet. Both Tobi and Hunter read that on his face at the same time. But obviously he felt something... more with Hunter.

"Maybe you two should go out on a date," Tobi suddenly suggested.

The two looked at him with shocked faces.

"I think it would be good for you two," Tobi explained. "I think it would make you guys... happy."

"I'm starting to think Dustin was right," Hunter replied. "You have changed."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled.

Dustin studied Tobi for a moment. "Hey, we can all go out, like the three of us," he suggested.

"Thanks," Tobi replied, "but I'd just be a third wheel."

"He's right," Hunter agreed. "So, Dustin, you want to go out on a date with me?" He laughed at how silly he sounded.

Dustin looked sympathetically at Tobi before smiling toward Hunter. "Sure, I'd love to man."

"You'd _love_ to?" Hunter repeated, grinning.

Dustin blushed and fidgeted nervously.

Hunter laughed again and stood, holding out a hand for Dustin, who took it hesitantly. "Shall we?" Hunter asked.

Dustin continued to blush as he let Hunter lead him out of Ninja Ops.

Tobi watched them go with a sense of defeat. He looked at Cam and Sensei, but they both seemed occupied, so he headed to the training room that he had slept in during his first night in this dimension.

He sat on the cot that was still in the room and closed his eyes.

* * *

He had lost track of time when Cam entered the room. Tobi looked up, surprised. "Did you figure out how to close the hole?" he asked before realizing Cam was going to ask if he was ready to return to his dimension.

"Not yet," Cam said removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I needed a break," he explained, returning his glasses to his face. "Plus, I wanted to check on you."

"Wondering if you should send me back?" Tobi suggested.

Cam sat down beside Tobi on the cot. "I'd be lying if I said my father was for letting you stay. He believes that you don't belong here, that the balance of the universe is upset or something like that."

Tobi gave him a surprised look. "And what do you think?"

Cam took a breath. "I think you could easily belong here." He stared at the training room wall for a moment. "You know, when Shane, Tori and Dustin became Power Rangers, it was because they were the only three Wind Ninjas left. They were the bottom of their class and were about to be kicked out of the academy. In every way, they didn't really belong here, but they ended up being the only ones who can save the rest of the students and restore the Wind Ninja Academy."

Tobi stared at him, trying to picture Shane and Tori as misfits like Dustin.

"The point is," Cam continued, "what keeps the universe in balance can really surprise you."

Tobi smiled. "Thanks," he said. "And, Cam..." He trailed off.

"What?" Cam asked, surprised.

Tobi looked away. "I swapped Tori's morpher," he said slowly.

"You what?" Cam asked.

"I even tried it on and... I morphed," he added. Cam gave him a shocked look, but he continued. "That's why I was able to streak to the beach and my tears misted and... my juices floated."

Cam gave him a confused look before realizing something. "That's why Tori's morpher was alighted to your dimension,"

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, "because I—"

"But you were able to morph using her morpher," he interrupted, looking amazed. "And it must have triggered dormant ninja abilities within you or you somehow absorbed some of the power charge when the suit formed."

Tobi gave him a confused look.

Cam stopped looking lost in thought and then looked at Tobi. "Listen, I understand why you did it. I would have done anything to be a Power Ranger at one point too, but this is actually good news. It means that, if the Power Rangers from your dimension come here, their morphers won't realign on their own. And, you swapped her morpher back and I realigned it, so no harm done."

"Huh?" Tobi asked.

"When you swapped her morpher back for your communicator," Cam explained. "Anyway, I guess I better get back to work." And, with a sigh, he left the room.

Tobi realized that Cam had misunderstood his confession, thinking that he had just traded his communicator with Tori's morpher to try it out and then switched them back. Cam had no idea about the other Tori or the danger her morpher alignment posed. But, if Lothor's helpers had been trying to steal this dimension's Power Rangers' morphers, obviously Lothor and Tobi's twin sister didn't know about the alignment issue either. That gave them at least some advantage, though not as much as Cam seemed to now think.

* * *

An uneasy feeling kept creeping over Tobi. He tried to shake it off, but he figured he still felt guilty about the misunderstood morpher swap, so he eventually made his way back to the main room of Ninja Ops.

When he entered, he saw Dustin sitting in front of Cam's computer monitor. "Dustin?" he asked, approaching him. "What are you..." But something about the way he typed so quickly made Tobi suspect this wasn't' the goofy Dustin from this dimension, but instead the crafty Dustin from Tobi's dimension. "How did you get in here?" Tobi demanded before realizing that the other versions of the rangers would be able to come and go as they please, being exact copies and all.

When Dustin didn't respond, Tobi tried to turn the chair Dustin was sitting in to face him, but he was stuck in place.

"He'll ignore anything that might distract him from his work," came a voice from behind Tobi.

Tobi turned to see Cam sitting with his laptop in front of him.

"If only I could program myself never to be distracted," Cam commented, studying his laptop screen.

"So, that's Cyber Dustin?" Tobi realized.

"I wasn't able to get Cyber Cam to load, so I just settled for him," Cam explained before addressing, "Cyber Dustin, you can acknowledge others now."

Immediately, Cyber Dustin paused in his work and spun around, smiling at Tobi. "Sorry I get so caught up in my work," he told Tobi, pulling him closer.

Tobi's cheeks flushed as Cyber Dustin's hands explored his body.

Just then, Shane entered Ninja Ops. He gave Tobi and Cyber Dustin a confused look.

"Cyber Dustin," Cam addressed, "resume your work."

Cyber Dustin immediately lowered his hands and spun around, hastily resuming his calculations.

"I probably don't' want to know what's going on," Shane commented. "Anyway, I scoped out the entire area and there's no more sign of Lothor's goons. It's getting dark, so I think it's Lothor's bedtime."

"That's one good thing about my uncle," Cam admitted. "He needs his beauty sleep."

"Not that it helps," Shane added.

The sound of giggling came from behind Shane. Tobi and Cam turned to see Blake and Tori entering Ninja Ops. They looks ridiculously happy. Blake had a relaxed yet triumphant look on his face and Tori looked equally satisfied.

As the two hung on each other and exchanged flirting looks, Tobi realized what was going on. "You two did it, didn't you!" he shouted louder than he had intended.

Blake blushed and fidgeted nervously. "We... uh..." he stuttered.

Tori grinned. "That's right, little brother," she said. "We did the wild thing!"

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	15. Sex and Sympathy

_Author's Notes: This chapter is shorter and I think I'll do the same with the next so that I can get it out sooner. Of course, don't get used to it. Sometimes I just start writing and writing and then I face the daunting task of typing it all up (massages fingers delicately)._

_Thanks _Magichalo_ for becoming a regular reviewer. I really appreciate it! Since you say you prefer the ranger-less stories more, maybe you'll like this chapter because it deals with character interactions. Oh, and the "naughty thang" may happen again... Anyway, got to get started on the next chapter!_

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Lothor creates a rift between the two dimensions. The tear results in an electromagnetic pulse crashing every electronic device, including all of Ninja Ops. Once Cam fixes communications, Sensei orders the others to see what's going on while Cam works on making it so that they can morph. Hunter decides to personally rescue Blake and Tori while Dustin is caught by Marah and Kapri, who are trying to steal morphers. Tobi is able to ninja streak, but otherwise proves useless to the battle. Cam rescues them and they return to Ninja Ops. Once there, Cam concludes that the other dimension's Power Rangers have not yet been brought over to this dimension. He then monitors anyone entering while he tries to find a way to close the rift. Meanwhile, Tobi suggests Hunter and Dustin go on a date. Later, Blake and Tori return from their outing and Tobi realizes they had sex Tori is more than happy to admit to that fact...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 15 (Sex and Sympathy)**

* * *

Cam was the first to gasp at Tori's confession of her and Blake's sexual activity, but Tobi and Shane were quick to follow suit.

Blake looked extremely embarrassed, but still happy.

Meanwhile, Can tried to focus on his laptop, but Tobi could see the glazed over look in his eyes. His mouth was still hanging open. It made Tobi wonder about Dustin and Hunter, so he stepped away from the others and activated his communicator. "Uh, Dustin?" he asked.

"Hey, TZT," Dustin's' voice greeted him happily. "I was just thinking about you."

"You were?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was," Dustin replied in a slightly lower voice before continuing. "So, what's up, dude?"

"I... just thought I'd check on you," Tobi said.

"I'm fine," Dustin replied.

"Yes, you are," Hunter's voice added.

Dustin giggled. "And Hunter's fine too," he added.

"Uh, yeah," Tobi mumbled. "So, are you two planning on... doing it together?" He gulped after finishing his question.

There was a moment of silence. "I don't put out on the first date, dude," Dustin said with a nervous laugh. A disappointed sigh could be heard from Hunter, which only made Dustin laugh more. "So, what about you?" he asked.

"Me?" Tobi asked. "I'm fine too I guess."

"Yeah, you are," Dustin giggled.

"Uh, right," Tobi replied. "What are you doing right now?"

"Me and Hunter were racing and I totally wiped out and then we were wrestling in the mud and just having fun," Dustin explained. "We're having chocolate ice cream right now and I was telling Hunter about you thinking I'm like made out of chocolate." He laughed at the thought.

"Oh," Tobi said. "Sounds... nice."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I'm glad I have good friends like you guys."

Tobi felt something catch in his throat again. "So, anyway," he said, taking a shallow breath, "Tori and Blake finally did it."

"What!" both Dustin and Hunter shouted.

"Yeah, everyone's surprised here too." He couldn't help but look at Cam trying to focus on his work.

"It's possible that Blake felt like he had to rush things," Hunter's voice commented in the background, "to prove he wasn't into Tobi. Still, I'm happy for my little bro."

"I never thought Tori would lose her virginity before me," Dustin said.

"The night's young," Hunter's voice said seductively.

Dustin laughed nervously. "Not gonna happen on our first date, dude."

Even though Dustin was happy and Tobi wanted Dustin to be happy, he couldn't help but feel emotionally chocked up, so he said, "I better go."

"Okay, catch you later, dude," Dustin replied.

Tobi lowered his arm and tried to calm himself. He closed his eyes and practiced breathing the way Sensei had taught him. When he opened his eyes, he saw his sister waving a hand in front of an unresponsive Cyber Dustin.

"It's Cyber Dustin," Tobi told her, approaching. "Cam made it so he can't be distracted."

"Cyber Dustin?" she repeated.

"Yeah, Cam couldn't get Cyber Cam to work," Tobi explained.

"Of... course," she said with a confused expression.

"So, what was he like?" Tobi tried to ask casually.

"Huh? Oh!" Tori realized. "He didn't last long, but it was long enough for me!" She laughed uncontrollably.

Tobi gave her a surprised look.

"Don't look at me that way!" she demanded. "We used a condom. I don't care how much I like him. There's is no way I'm popping out a baby over him."

"Uh, right," Tobi mumbled. "You seem... different now that you two finally... did it."

"Oh, do I?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and thinking. "How should I be acting?"

"How would I know?" he asked, frowning. "I'm the virgin."

"Poor baby brother," she said jokingly, "but you'd have gotten some action if you weren't so obsessed with braniac Dustin. I mean, you are my twin brother after all and therefore good looking by default."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled. Something about the way Tori was acting reminded him of his twin sister from back in his own dimension. But, since he knew that version of her had lost her virginity years ago, he figured that's what sex did to people. It changed them. He thought about Cyber Dustin's blow job and wondered if that had changed him.

"Don't tell me you're getting off on thinking of me and Blake," Tori said, looking down.

Tobi followed her gaze to see a bulge in his jeans. "No," he replied defensively. "I did like kissing Blake and seeing him naked, but—"

Tori gasped. "You—"

"I already told you it was all an accident," he defended. "Anyway, I was actually just... You see, Cyber Dustin gave me a blow job and—"

"What!" Tori gasped before containing herself. "I mean, what?"

"Yeah, well..." Tobi mumbled.

"Is there a robot version of me?" she asked.

"It's a 'virtual replicant,'" Tobi corrected, "like a hologram I think."

"Yeah, whatever," she dismissed, studying Cyber Dustin. "How do you get him not to be obsessed with his computer?"

Tobi thought for a moment. "I think Cam said, 'Cyber Dustin, you can acknowledge others now.'"

Immediately Cyber Dustin turned and stared at Tobi.

Tobi gasped. "I thought only Cam could command you," he said.

"I'll always have a special place in my memory banks fro you, Tobi," Cyber Dustin replied with a grin, pulling Tobi closer to him.

"Nice," Tori muttered. "So this is why you like it here so much. Can you get him to listen to me too?"

"I don't know," Tobi confessed, swatting Dustin's hand away from his crotch while he grinned at his sister embarrassedly. "Uh, Cyber Dustin, you can do what Tori says too, okay?"

"Anything for you, Tobi," Cyber Dustin replied.

"Cyber Dustin, resume your work," Cam called from across the room.

Both Tobi and Tori stepped away nervously while Cyber Dustin went back to his calculations.

"Hey, Tori," Blake said, coming over to her and Tobi, "I know you said you wanted to come here first, but why don't we head back to my place and... finish up our night."

Tori looked at him longingly. "Tempting, very tempting," she said before looking at Tobi, "but I was going to spend the night with my brother."

Both Blake and Tobi looked at her in surprise.

"It just feels like it's been ages since we've spent the night together," she continued.

"We've never spent the night together," Tobi pointed out.

"Ah, yes, well all the more reason to start!" she declared. "Blake tells me you're staying here at Ninja Ops tonight."

"Yeah, I guess so," Tobi replied.

"Well, show me to our room," she said before looking at a confused and disappointed Blake. "And then leave me and Blake alone for a little bit for a quickie before he leaves."

Blake's face lit up.

"Uh, right this way, I guess," Tobi said, leading the two lovebirds to the training room.

"Not much, but it'll do," she said, grabbing Blake and dragging him into the room.

"I'll, uh, leave you guys," Tobi quickly said, running off. He had walked in on his sister having sex before back in his dimension and she never cared, but the boys certainly had. Maybe it was all the staring and wandering eyes that had led the boys to then avoid his sister. Besides, he never cared for seeing girl parts, even if they were his sister's. And the first time she had sex was kind of... gross. Now, if two guys were going at it... That, he'd like to see!

* * *

Shane had gone home by the time Tobi returned to the main room of Ninja Ops. Cam looked tired and frustrated. "I'm not getting anywhere," he complained, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Cyber Dustin, continue trying to find a way to seal that fissure and tell me the moment you detect anything entering this dimension. I'm going to bed."

"Are you... alright?" Tobi asked as Cam stood up and stretched.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Just overworking." He then shuffled off to his room.

"He does too much sometimes," Sensei said, hopping over to Tobi.

"And is rarely appreciated for it," Tobi agreed. "He deserves to be happy."

Sensei looked at him and smiled, closing his little eyes. "I sense your inner ninja is already taking shape," he commented.

"My inner what?" he asked. "Oh, right."

Just then, Blake and Tori came skipping into the main room, smiling. Tori kissed Blake on the lips. "Goodnight," she told him.

"Goodnight, Tor," Blake said, returning her kiss and prancing out of Ninja Ops.

Tori grabbed Tobi by the arm. "Come on! Let's get to bed now!"

"Goodnight, Sensei," Tobi said as he was dragged off.

* * *

When Tobi stepped into the training room, he saw a second cot lined up next to the first. He noticed something else too.

He was caught between horror and curiosity as he stared at the clearly used condom lying on the cot nearest him.

Tori noticed his expression and laughed. "Sorry," she said, "but I didn't see a trash. I'll go flush it unless you want to do the honors." She dangled it in front of her brother. Yes, it was definitely used—and full.

"Uh, that's okay," Tobi managed to say.

* * *

While Tori went to the bathroom, Tobi activated his communicator. "Dustin?" he asked.

"Hey, TZT," Dustin's voice greeted him.

"I... just wanted to say goodnight," Tobi said slowly. "I'm going to bed now."

"Yeah, I'm just saying goodnight to Hunter," Dustin explained, yawning. "Goodnight. See you tomorrow morning. Not early. I think I'll sleep in."

"That's fine," Tobi agreed. "And... tell Hunter I said goodnight too."

"Sure," Dustin agreed, surprise in his voice.

"Bye," Tobi whispered before deactivating his communicator. He decided to briefly pay a visit to the main room of Ninja Ops.

Cyber Dustin was still busy working, but Tobi walked up to him and gave him a light hug. "I know you're not real and you're not Dustin, but... goodnight." Cyber Dustin continued to work uninterrupted. Tobi thought about telling him to pay attention to him, but it wasn't' worth it. When it came down to reality, he wasn't the real Dustin.

* * *

When Tobi returned to the Training room, Tori was making herself comfortable. "Why the long face?" she asked when she noticed her brother's expression.

"Nothing," Tobi mumbled, sitting on his cot.

"Liar," she accused playfully.

Tobi sighed. "Ever since Dustin chose Hunter, it's like I'm back in my own dimension."

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

He laid down on the cot next to her. "I never fit in there."

"Sure you—I mean, why do you think that?" she asked.

"They only put up with me because the Tori from my dimension made them," he continued. "They were afraid of her."

Tori couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"I'm serious," he insisted. "She used to beat up the kids that picked on me when we were growing up. I got picked on a lot for being... different."

She stopped laughing. "So, what does not fitting in there have to do with how you feel here?" she asked. "You don't fit in here either?"

"No," Tobi disagreed. "I actually feel like I fit in better here. It's just that I never thought I had a chance with the other Dustin and then I come here and this Dustin is actually attracted to me... but chooses Hunter instead."

Tori gave him a surprised look, but didn't say anything.

"It's strange," he added, "but I think it was actually easier with the other Dustin because he was mean to me. This Dustin is so nice and... caring. It makes me love him more. In fact, I've been wondering if I ever really loved the other Dustin because I never felt such intense feelings. I mean, I thought they were strong before, but... now it's just out of control. I could never even admit to myself that I actually loved Dustin until _this _Dustin. Now I just feel... lost."

Tori continued to watch her brother speechlessly.

"What?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Liar," he accused, repeating her words from before.

She grinned. "It's just that... you've changed so much and yet... it's like this is who you've always been. On the inside, I mean. You were always trying to act tough, but you were a wimp." She laughed. "You belong here. I don't know why I didn't see that sooner, but you do."

Tobi watched his sister with a hint of confusion in his eyes, but he smiled.

"Anyway, let's get to sleep!" she declared.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, settling in and thinking about her words.

* * *

During the night, Tobi felt the need to get up and urinate, so he reluctantly stumbled out of bed. But, when he looked around, he noticed that the other cot was empty. He figured that his sister woke up with the same urge to visit the bathroom, so he waited for her to come back.

When that didn't happen after a while, he figured he'd get up and give her a friendly knock on the bathroom door. Girls always took so long in there.

He left the training room and was about to head for the bathroom when he heard voices coming from the main room. He decided to briefly check it out, so he followed the sound.

When he entered the main room, Tori was talking to Cyber Dustin. "And, so that will mask the echo thing you mentioned when someone enters the dimension?" she asked Cyber Dustin.

"Yes," Cyber Dustin agreed.

"What about someone leaving this dimension?" she asked.

"Cam isn't scanning for that," he admitted.

"Hmmm," she thought. "Well, set up a second masking program just in case and, remember, you are to wipe your memory of my being here the moment you're done."

"I understand completely," Cyber Dustin replied, smiling. "Give Tobi a kiss for me."

"Of course," she agreed, making a face.

"What are you doing?" Tobi asked.

Tori turned around, startled. When she saw Tobi, she let out a sigh of relief. "Tobi, you scared me. I was... just telling Cyber Dustin the information that Cam told me to give him."

"Why didn't he do that himself?" Tobi asked skeptically.

"Well, you know what a workaholic Dustin is," she replied. "He wore himself out and didn't even want to get out of bed."

"You mean, Cam," Tobi corrected.

"Isn't that what I said?" she asked.

Tobi stared at her with a suspicious look.

"Now, let's get back to bed," she quickly added, leading Tobi away.

"Don't you want to call your mom to tell her you're staying over somewhere so she won't stay up _all_ night worrying?" Tobi asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "Blake said that too, like—"

"Because your mom's alive in this dimension," Tobi reminded her.

Her eyes widened. "Uh, yeah, of course. I knew that. I just meant that I already told her a long time ago."

Tobi watched her as they returned to the training room. The moment they both entered, he grossed his arms. "I know who you are," he accused. "You're my sister—my _real_ sister from my dimension. Where's this dimension's Tori?"

Instead of looking afraid or nervous at being caught, she just broke into a wide grin. "Congratulations," she said. "I was getting tired of acting so stupid around you. But I know who you are too and I know you won't tell the others."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you'd never betray your _real_ sister," she replied, holding up her morpher-covered arm.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_


	16. Two Toris and Two Traitors?

_Thanks _**Ghostwriter**_ for another review. Glad you like it and hope I'm churning them out fast enough. Don't get used to this after the holidays are over though!_

_Thanks _**Magichalo**_ for another review. It's like a soap opera! And, yes, I know Tobi keeps meddling with Dustin/Hunter, but that's what happens when you're in love. It's like an addiction. Kind of like me not wanting to ever reach the end of this story._

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess**_ for not wanting to kill me after chapter 14. I did try to warn you. I hope your heart is still working properly. So, yeah, will Tobi turn traitor to the others or to his own twin sister? In the position we left him in last chapter, he's going to have to make a choice. Will he realize that and... What am I talking about? Let's just get on with the story and find out!_

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**After finding out that Tori had sex with Blake, Tobi decides to check in on Dustin, but he has no plans of having sex with Hunter. Meanwhile, Cam is depressed and Tobi sympathizes with him. After Tori and Blake have sex again, Tori says she wants to spend the night with Tobi. She seems to be in a hurry to get him to fall asleep. After a heart to heart where she says he belongs in this dimension, they go to sleep. Then, during the night, Tobi awakens to find his sister having Cyber Dustin hide any entry made into this dimension. Tobi confronts her that he knows the truth. She's his dimension's version of Tori But she says he would never betray his real sister...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 16 (Two Toris and Two Traitors?)**

* * *

Tobi continued to stare at his sister with his arms folded across his chest while she grinned back at him. She had a point. She was his real twin sister and he had swapped morphers for her, but he regretted that. "I betrayed this dimension's version of you once," he told her. "I'm not going to do it again." He tried to make his voice sound confident.

"Of course you are!" she insisted. "Besides, didn't you just tell me how _heartbroken_ you are here? Sure, you may fit in with the wimps here, but they'll never fully accept or trust you because you don't belong here."

"You're wrong!" he yelled. He hadn't meant to yell and wasn't sure why he had, so he covered his mouth.

"That's the Tobi I know," she said, playfully slapping his arm.

He glared at her.

She shrugged and took another approach. "So, Tobi, tell me which of these losers—I mean, these _people_," she corrected, "in this dimension love you?"

He thought about that but didn't have an answer.

"Exactly," she said. "Who has always been there for you? Who saved your life during the last Zord attack?"

Tobi frowned. "You didn't save everyone, but thanks," he relented, changing his tone. "Just tell me that this dimension's Tori's okay." He gave her a pleading look.

She sighed. "She's fine. I just wish you cared about me as much as her."

"I do care about you," he insisted, "but there's something about this dimension..."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Blake's easier to bed. Apparently even you made out with him."

"Besides that," he scolded. "So, what's your plan?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, "because you care or because you want to tell these guys?"

"Because I care," he declared.

"Well," she began, thinking, "that's good because, if I don't complete my plan, you'll never see this dimension's version of me."

He stared at her in disbelief and horror.

"I'm not making threats," she defended. "I'm just saying I doubt Lothor will let her go without me."

He thought about that before asking again, "So, why are you here? Sabotage? Or just Blake?"

She grinned. "Well, Blake was a bonus," she admitted,, "but otherwise I'm just bait."

"Bait?" he asked.

"In case our Power Rangers need a reason to attack these guys," she explained.

"So, they 'rescue' you?" he asked.

"If it comes to that," she replied.

"And me being here wasn't good enough?" he suggested.

"Well, okay, so I do have some things to take care of while I'm here," she admitted.

"And what's that?" he asked her.

"You'll find out soon enough," she replied, smiling. "I'd hate to spoil the surprise. You know how much you like surprises."

"It depends on the surprise," he pointed out.

She shrugged. "Now, let's get some sleep," she insisted. "We're going to be woken up really early."

"How do you know?" he asked as she proceeded to lie down on her cot.

"I guess it depends on if things go according to plan or not," she said, getting comfortable. "Either way, I've done my part."

Tobi stretched out on his cot and watched his sister. He was tired, so it was easy to pretend like he was sleeping, but when he closed his eyes, he thought about what to do. Cam would discover the changes she had Cyber Dustin make no matter how well she covered her tracks, but she seemed to be implying that something was going to happen before morning, and before Cam woke up. He had to warn the others, but if he did and she didn't complete whatever she was up to, would this dimension's Tori really be in worse danger? And, was he really going to betray his sister? She was right. She had been there for him.

Like him, his sister wasn't really a heavy sleeper and getting caught sneaking off would mean she'd never trust him again. It was like he was being forced to choose between this dimension's Tori and his dimension's Tori.

He needed advise, but Sensei was convinced he didn't belong here. He thought of Dustin, but he wasn't much for advice. Comfort, yes, advice no. Besides, he didn't want to wake him. Cam was pretty smart, but he was also in a bad mood about Tori already and seemed completely incapable of keeping a secret, especially from Tori. Blake was way too close, especially after unknowingly bedding his dimension's version of his sister. That left Shane and Hunter. Hunter had kept his feelings for Dustin a secret for a long time and he seemed to trust Tobi. So...

* * *

After what felt like an eternity of fighting his own fatigue and his body's desire to sleep, Tobi finally felt his sister must be asleep. He tested that theory by pretending to toss in his sleep. His sister didn't so much as flinch.

He sat up, stretched and pretended to be shuffling off to the bathroom. Instead, he went to the main room. Once there, he approached Cyber Dustin, still hard at work. "Cyber Dustin," he whispered, "has anyone entered this dimension from mine?"

"I'm unable to answer that question," Cyber Dustin replied.

"Why?" Tobi asked.

"I don't know," Cyber Dustin admitted.

"Well, let's say that someone set up a masking program and wiped your memory," Tobi suggested.

"That would explain a lot," Cyber Dustin agreed.

"Then undo it and keep monitoring the dimensional rift," Tobi advised.

"Anything for you," Cyber Dustin said, typing away.

While Cyber Dustin worked, Tobi went up the cavern passage out of Ninja Ops and stood in the dark night. He lifted his communicator. "Hunter," he addressed.

After some sounds of movement from the other end, Hunter's sleepy voice replied, "Yeah? Don't tell me Lothor's attacking now."

"No," Tobi told him. "It's me. I need to talk to someone and you're the only person I thought would be able to help and I knew I could trust."

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you there?" Tobi asked.

"I'm here," Hunter replied. "I'm just... surprised is all."

"Yeah, well, I surprise myself a lot too," Tobi agreed. "Anyway, I don't know what will happen if she finds out, so just promise me you'll keep this to yourself."

"She?" Hunter asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Promise," Tobi insisted.

"Yeah, I promise," Hunter agreed.

"Okay..." Tobi took a breath. He was about to betray his sister, but possibly save another version of her. Possibly, anyway. "The Tori you brought back with Blake from Lothor's ship isn't this dimension's Tori. It's my sister."

"What? Are you sure?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," Tobi said. "I've been... meeting with her. She's been here for as long as I have but she's working for Lothor for some reason. She reprogrammed Cyber Dustin to try to make it so that Cam wouldn't detect anyone entering this dimension but I think I fixed that. But she says that unless she completes her mission, she thinks there's no way of getting this dimension's Tori back."

There was another moment of silence.

"Hunter? Did you hear me?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Hunter replied. "Why didn't you tell Cam?"

"I don't want my sister to find out... to know I betrayed her," Tobi admitted.

"And Cam can't keep a secret?" Hunter asked. "It doesn't matter. We call the others and we can take her. I got Blake and Tori—one Tori anyway—off Lothor's ship once already. I can do it again."

"It's not just that," Tobi explained. "She's my sister. If she trusts me, she might tell me her plan. Plus, I think Lothor wanted you to rescue Blake and Tori to bring _her_ back."

"I get it," Hunter agreed, "but I don't like keeping everyone else in the dark."

"I know," Tobi replied, "but speaking of the dark, I think the other Power Rangers are going to try to cross over some time before morning. I have to get back to bed and act surprised when the crossover is detected."

"But what if that's too late?" Hunter suggested. "I'm at least staying morphed and warning Blake to do the same."

"What will you tell Blake?" Tobi asked. "That he had sex with the wrong Tori? Besides, without knowing how to realign their morphers, there's not a danger."

"And, with Tori and her morpher in Lothor's possession, how long until they figure that out?" Hunter pointed out.

"With my dimension's Dustin, not long," Tobi reluctantly admitted.

"Right," Hunter said. "Is the Tori with you in contact with Lothor?"

"No," Tobi replied. "I don't think so. She seems to think she did her part and just needs to wait."

"Good," Hunter told him. "Stay with her. I'm going to rescue Tori—this dimension's Tori. I'm telling Dustin what's going on too. I'll... wait to tell Blake though."

"Okay," Tobi agreed. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," Hunter insisted. "I'm glad you're on our side."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, lowering his communicator. So, why did he feel so guilty?

* * *

Tobi decided to check on Cyber Dustin before returning to the training room. "Cyber Dustin, has anyone entered this dimension?"

"Nope," Cyber Dustin replied.

"Good," Tobi said, beginning to walk off. "Wait. Has anyone _left_ this dimension?"

"I don't know," Cyber Dustin admitted.

"The other masking program," Tobi realized. "Can you undo the program?"

"Yes," Cyber Dustin replied, typing away.

"What's that?" Tobi asked, pointing at the screen.

"There's someone near the dimensional fissure," Cyber Dustin explained.

"Who?" Tobi asked.

"Choobo," Cyber Dustin replied, studying the readouts.

"He's just standing there?" Tobi asked before realizing something. "He's waiting. Lothor's already sent someone to my dimension to get the Power Rangers."

"I have no way of knowing if that's true," Cyber Dustin admitted.

"Let's assume it's true," Tobi suggested. "Can we close the hole on them?"

"And leave them trapped in your dimension, Tobi?" Cyber Dustin asked.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed.

"Well, I did figure out a way to close it, but Cam won't like it," Cyber Dustin explained. "It will take an enormous amount of focused energy for a permanent seal."

"How much?" Tobi asked. "Like a nuclear bomb?"

"No," Cyber Dustin replied. "That would actually make it worse. One of the Power Rangers will have to permanently exhaust their ability to even morph or command a Zord again."

Tobi grew wide-eyed. "Once Cam knows, he'll want to be the one to make the sacrifice, won't he?" Tobi asked.

"According to my and what I was able to recover from Cyber Cam's memory banks, yes," Cyber Dustin agreed.

"Even though he was the last one to become a Power Ranger," Tobi commented.

"You're so caring, Tobi," Cyber Dustin said, running a finger along Tobi's chest.

"Please keep your mind on your work," Tobi warned. "And can we keep the way to seal it a secret from Cam for now?"

"You know I'd do anything for you," Cyber Dustin said, "but my programming wont' let me do that. The fissure poses too much of a danger to both dimensions. I can just provide him with the data and let him figure it out on his own," he offered.

Tobi realized something. "What if I use Tori's morpher to morph and sacrifice my own powers?"

"You'd be my hero," Cyber Dustin said with a wink, "but you'd really be sacrificing the blue Power Ranger, meaning Tori would never be able to morph."

Tobi lowered his head in defeat.

"What are you doing up, Tobi?" a voice came from behind him.

He literally jumped at the sound. When he turned around, he saw Sensei waddling toward him. At least it wasn't his sister. "Uh, I was, uh, just talking to Cyber Dustin," Tobi replied lamely.

"A poor substitute for the real thing, I'm sure," Sensei commented, hopping onto a nearby counter.

Cyber Dustin made a face, but otherwise continued his work.

"Sensei," Tobi asked, trying to find the right words. "How do you think the Power Rangers would do against Lothor if there were one less Power Ranger?"

Sensei studied him for a moment. "That is a strange question and one I hope we never have to face." He gave Tobi a serious look, though it was hard to tell on a guinea pig's face. "As it is, Lothor is getting bolder and it takes more and more each time in order to stop him. If we lose just one Power Ranger, we could lose the Earth."

Tobi sighed, knowing the Earth could be lost either way because of the expanding dimensional rift and what was necessarily to close it before it destroyed both Earths.

"You should return to bed," Sensei advised, watching him suspiciously.

"Uh, yeah," Tobi agreed. "So, why are you up?"

"Late night munchies," he explained, reaching for some guinea pig food. "I wonder if these mini meals you speak of are more filling…" he pondered outloud.

"Oh, I don't know," Tobi replied, slipping off and returning to the training room.

He quietly lowered himself onto his cot and looked over at his sister. She seemed to still be asleep. He yawned and quickly joined her.

* * *

He was woken up shortly after falling asleep by Cam's voice coming through his sister's morpher. "Morph now!" he ordered. "Several people have just entered this dimension. Get to Ninja Ops now."

Tori yawned and looked around confused for a moment before casually getting off her cot and morphing, in no real hurry. "Wake up, Tobi," she said. "If I have to get up at his ungodly hour, so do you."

Tobi felt exhausted and needed a lot more sleep, but he still stood up and followed his sister.

Cam was wearing his Samurai Power Ranger suit while standing over his computer. Just then, morphed versions of Blake and Shane entered.

"Dustin!" Cam called to his morpher.

"I'm here," Dustin said, streaking in as well.

Cam looked around, surprised. "Where's Hunter?" He raised his morpher again. "Hunter?" he asked.

"I'm on my way," came Hunter's voice in reply. "I've already morphed."

Dustin looked nervously toward Tori and Tobi knew that Hunter had told him.

Tobi then looked at his sister, but couldn't tell much with her helmet on and visor closed.

"Okay," Cam said, the fatigue heavy in his voice, "a few minutes ago, Cyber Dustin tracked several individuals crossing into our dimension. Some of them are aliens, probably Lothor's goons, but the rest are definitely human, probably our counterparts."

Tori looked around, but Tobi pretended to be as surprised as everyone else.

Cam opened his visor and rubbed his eyes. "I should have had Cyber Dustin monitor when Lothor's goons _left_ this dimension. I can't believe I could have overlooked something so obvious, especially now that I think I've found a way to seal the fissure."

"How?" Blake asked.

"I'm going to expend my morphing energy to seal it," Cam replied.

"Huh?" Dustin asked.

"I will never be able to morph again and the Samurai Power Ranger can not be passed on, but it would be more than enough energy to permanently seal the fissure."

"You can't!" Dustin protested. "Cam, dude, we need you."

Cam grinned weakly.

"Dustin's right," Tobi spoke up. "You can't sacrifice yourself for—" but he was interrupted by Hunter entering Ninja Ops and he was not alone. Another Tori was with him.

"What?" Shane immediately snapped, looking from one Tori to the other unmorphed Tori. "It's one of _them_."

"No," Hunter insisted. "This is the real Tori."

The others looked between the two Toris. The morphed Tori next to Tobi shook her head. "Can't you tell an _evil_ Tori when you see one?" she asked. "Or... is this a different Hunter too? It is kind of suspicious how he took so much longer to get here."

The others looked at one another, not sure what to do. Shane crossed his arms. "Yeah, how do we know you're the real Hunter and," he looked between the two Toris, "which is which Tori?"

Hunter sighed in exasperation. "Ask Tobi," Hunter said, gesturing toward him.

The others turned to Tobi, including his sister.

There was no chance of her trusting him now. "This is my sister—my _real_ sister," he explained. "I stole Tori's morpher and swapped it with hers so she could morph, but Cam was able to realign the one I gave this dimension's Tori. I betrayed all of you because of her and I'm sorry." He couldn't help but look at his sister when he said that. "But I had to make a choice and I chose..." He looked at Dustin, remembering his choice. "I chose you guys. Hunter rescued this dimension's Tori because I told him the truth. I trusted him. I'm asking you to trust me."

His sister immediately opened her visor so that he could see how disappointed she was with him, but then she turned to the others. "He lied to us all before and he's doing it again now," she insisted. She looked at Dustin. "I feel worst about you Dustin. Or should I say, Waldo? It's me, Tori," she whispered.

Dustin opened his visor and looked at her, surprise in his eyes. Then he looked toward Tobi, this time with confusion.

"She knows your real name, dude," Shane told Dustin before looking at the others. "It does seem a little hard to believe," he admitted, "especially Tobi trusting Hunter over any of the rest of us."

Cam nodded. "Yeah." Tobi knew Cam felt personally betrayed that Tobi hadn't trusted him.

"Maybe we should ask this Tori," Tobi's sister suggested. "She seems awfully quiet."

"Tori's right," Blake spoke up, looking from the morphed Tori to the unmorphed Tori near Hunter. "Which Tori are you?" he asked the quiet Tori.

Something seemed to spark in her eyes and she turned to Cam. She raised her arms and... blasted the entire computer consol with water. Sparks began flying, followed by smoke.

"No!" Cam gasped, diving to block his computer. As he moved, his Samurai Power Ranger suit disappeared, returning him to a green tank top and pair of white briefs.

Meanwhile, Shane and Dustin were quick to grab Tori by the arms. As they did, they too demorphed, along with Tobi's sister. The only two left morphed were Hunter and Blake.

"How could you betray _us_ like this?" Tobi's sister accused in a convincing tone.

"You lied to me so that I'd bring your Tori back to Ninja Ops," Hunter said, his brother still looking at him suspiciously. "We _trusted_ you."

"Yeah..." Dustin mumbled, looking away from Tobi quickly. He could see tears forming in Dustin's eyes and sensed the past betrayals bubbling to the surface of Dustin's mind. He had been so afraid of being used again.

"Don't you see what she's doing?" Tobi yelled. "She's trying to turn you again me!" He felt tears forming in his own eyes and he knew he was shaking.

"I know the real Tori," Blake insisted, causing Tobi's sister to grin, satisfied.

"You have to believe me!" Tobi continued. "Dustin!"

Dustin continued to hold Tori by the arms and turned away, refusing to look at Tobi.

Tobi felt himself breaking down, so he turned away. Nearby, sparks continued to fly from Cam's computer as the water evaporated.

"He can't even face the truth," his sister accused.

He spun around, tears on his face. "Just because I betrayed you doesn't mean I don't love you," he yelled at his sister. "I care about you, but I care about other people too. Maybe you should try that sometime! Sure, you've always been there for me, but when you saved me, you let our mom die! I love you and you'll always be my only real sister, but right now I'm ashamed to call you that."

The look on his sister's face revealed a deep internal struggle. She was fighting hard not to yell at her brother.

Behind Cam, his smoking computer began to glow, though the screen was blank.

"Everyone calm down, "Sensei interrupted. "We should place the other dimension's Tori and Tobi in the training room for now."

"Right," the others agreed.

"And, with that, they proceeded to lead Tobi and the clearly brainwashed silent Tori to the training room together.

"Dustin," Tobi whispered.

Dustin didn't say anything, but he finally let their eyes meet. Tobi could see the indecision in his brown eyes. He looked from Tobi to the two Toris and back to Tobi. He bit his bottom lip, but didn't say anything as Tobi and Tori were locked in the training room.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Oh, the drama continues!_


	17. Who Cares?

_Author's Notes: I have to apologize in advance if this chapter comes across as spotty because I was... distracted a lot. Anyway, I always thank everyone who takes the time to review after each chapter, but I'd also like to give a shout out to the readers who don't review (after all, I've been one of those so many times): Glad you like the story enough to keep coming back for more! I hope you are enjoying the... drama? If you're reading right now, Happy Holidays! Hope you and your loved ones got what you wanted this year (unless of course it was something unrealistic, like world peace or waking up with Dustin in your bed...). If you're reading in like July or something, you're probably scratching your head. But, if you're reading now, remember you can vote in the poll located at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger). And, now, in the order of time reviews were posted..._

_Thanks _Ghostwriter _for such regular reviews. Some time I'm going to have to figure out what "Catch you on the flip side" means..._

_Thanks _YellowPrincess_ for yet another enthusiastic review. You're right, Tobi's sister is evil, but at least Tobi seems to have made the right choice. But what will be the consequences? And what will the other rangers be like if his own sister is evil? Oh, and glad your heart is okay. ;)_

_Thanks _Magichalo_ for another encouraging review. You're right, the drama never ends! And, yes, Tobi is alone, but will he stay that way? I could answer that question, but why do that when instead I can continue the story? After all, according to you, I'm "soo good." Haha..._

_**

* * *

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**After he finds out that his sister is in Ninja Ops and this dimension's Tori is trapped on Lothor's ship, Tobi reluctantly decides to betray his sister. He asks Hunter for advice and Hunter decides to rescue Tori. Meanwhile, Tobi fixes the changes his sister made to Cyber Dustin, thus allowing Cam to be aware of the moment the other Power Rangers enter this dimension. When they do, Cam announces that he will sacrifice his Samurai powers in order to seal the dimensional rift. When Hunter returns with this dimension's Tori, Tobi's sister manages to convince everyone that she's the real Tori and, especially after Tobi's confessions, that Tobi is a traitor. Tobi tries to change their minds, but Tori seems to be brainwashed and destroys Ninja Ops' computer systems, causing the Wind Power Rangers to dimorph. Thinking that she must be the other dimension's Tori and that Tobi is a traitor, they lock them together in the training room. Worst of all, Dustin doesn't seem to trust Tobi...**_

**

* * *

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 17 (Who Cares?)**

* * *

The moment the two were locked in the training room, Tobi turned to Tori. "Come on, Tori," he pleaded, approaching her. "Snap out of it."

She just looked at him blankly. When he tried to touch her arm, she pushed him away and took up a fighting stance.

"I'm not going to fight you," he told her. He looked around the room in exhaustion. "I chose you over my own sister and look where it got me. The least you can do is talk to me."

She just watched him, silently maintaining her fighting stance.

He sat down on his cot and put his head into his hands. "Dustin," he muttered into his palms. "I just wish you knew I didn't trick you." He hit his forehead with one hand. He never should have helped his sister. He should have told Hunter about the first secret meeting the moment he received the letter out of the sky. But she was his twin sister and, despite her being a self-absorbed jerk, he couldn't stop loving her. He hated that fact, but what could he do?

* * *

After a while of waiting, Tobi's exhaustion took over and he fell asleep on his cot.

He awoke to the sound of someone entering the training room. Looking up, he saw that it was his sister and he immediately frowned.

"I'm here for an apology and because I care," she said.

"Is that what you told the others to let you in here with such _dangerous_ people?" he asked her, sitting up and looking over at this dimension's brainwashed Tori.

"That's what I told them and it's the truth," she insisted.

"You can cut the act," Tobi said. "The computer systems are fried. There's no way for them to monitor our conversation."

She pointed to her morpher and shook her head. Apparently, Cam had one again fixed communications first. "So, you betrayed _us_ for _that_ Tori?" she asked, her words and her tone making it obvious that she had a double meaning. She even pointed between him and her when she said "us." She wanted to know why Tobi had betrayed her relationship with him for this dimension's Tori.

Tobi sighed. "I told you already why I did it. What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? I feel bad, but I'm not sorry."

She sat down on the cot next to him and lowered her voice. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you," Tobi insisted. "In fact, I was just thinking how much I hated the fact that I couldn't change how much I love you despite everything."

"Isn't that the same thing?" she asked.

"No, it's not," he replied before looking down. "When I first came here, Tori was the first person who trusted me."

"Maybe I shouldn't have trusted you," she suggested.

"_You_ had no choice," he replied. "_She_ did."

"I don't understand," she said.

Tobi just groaned. "How's Dustin?"

"What?" she asked.

Tobi looked at her crossly. "How's Dustin doing? Does he think I tricked him?"

"Oh," she said. "He seems _hurt_, if that's what you mean."

Tobi frowned. "That's what I was afraid of."

She leaned toward her brother and whispered in his ear. "Look, I'm making this easier on you. Dustin and Hunter are together. The others don't trust you and there's a hole leading back to our dimension. Play along and you'll be going home."

"And what if I don't want to go back?" she asked.

"They'll never trust you again," she replied, "but look at me. Here I am giving you a second chance despite your betrayal."

"It's not like my 'betrayal' did anything," he pointed out, "not with Tori acting like some drone." He gestured toward a blank-faced Tori.

His sister leaned forward and whispered again, "She was insurance in case something went wrong or I was betrayed by my own brother."

"So, you never trusted me to begin with?" he asked.

"Lothor didn't trust you," she whispered before continuing in a normal volume. "_I_ always trusted you. That's why it hurts."

He looked into his sister's eyes, trying to figure out how much she really did feel hurt. Some of the emotion was obviously very real and it made him feel guilty, which of course made him feel emotionally confused.

"I'm guessing I'm not getting an apology," she said, turning away from him.

Tobi sighed. "Not unless you can break Lothor's spell over Tori," he replied.

"So, she's not naturally evil?" his sister asked, which earned her a jab in the arm from Tobi. That quickly changed her expression. She offered him a grin, but he merely rolled his eyes at her.

Just then, the door opened and Dustin peaked in. "Hey," he said in what seemed like a nervous attempt at sounding casual.

"Hey," Tobi's sister repeated, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I just like... wanted to talk to Tobi," he said, opening his mouth into a wide, forced smile.

"Sure, join the party," Tobi's sister offered.

"I, uh, kinda wanted to talk to him alone, you know?" he replied.

Tobi watched Dustin's eyes and saw... hope. It made him smile up at the earth ninja.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Tobi's sister asked.

Tobi couldn't help but roll his eyes again.

Dustin grinned at Tobi's sister. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I'll be fine. They didn't like go all Psycho Rangers on _you_."

She gave Tobi a warning gaze before agreeing with Dustin's... logic? and leaving.

Tobi looked up at Dustin optimistically. "Do you believe me?"

Dustin was watching the silent, blank-faced Tori in the corner. "I don't know," he admitted. "This is all freaking me out."

"I don't blame you if you never trust me again," Tobi said, following Dustin's gaze to Tori. "I never should have kept me being in contact with my real sister a secret from you—from everyone, I mean," he corrected.

Dustin began to approach Tori. "So, this is really Tori—our dimension's Tori?" he asked, trying to get her attention. She immediately lashed out against him until he backed off. "Dude," he mumbled, "_so_ not on her good side."

Tobi stood up and walked over to Dustin. "We have to find a way to help her. I think Lothor used some kind of mind control on her."

He looked from Tori to Tobi. "But the other Tori knows my name."

"Even I know your real name is Waldo," Tobi explained. "It's not that big a secret."

Dustin frowned.

"At least not back in my dimension," he added.

Dustin again looked from Tori to Tobi and bit his lip uncomfortably. "Dude, I..." He rethought what he was going to say. "Maybe I believe you."

Tobi smiled. "Thanks," he said. "That means a lot to me."

"But I'm always the trusting one," Dustin pointed out.

"Maybe," Tobi agreed, "but I care a lot about what you think."

"Oh, right," he replied, grinning nervously. "TZT, I..." He looked down at the training room floor.

"What?" Tobi asked.

Dustin looked up and swallowed. "I... When I thought you..."

"When you thought I tricked you," Tobi offered.

"Yeah," Dustin replied, his eyes lighting up like he was hoping he wouldn't have to say anything at all.

"You thought I was like Marah and whoever else you got duped and used by and..." Tobi grimaced at the thought, "you felt _hurt_."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, his eyes still alight. "It's like you can read my mind. A little freaky, dude."

Tobi laughed and placed a hand on Dustin's shoulder. "I wish I could find out all the stuff that goes on inside that cute head of yours."

"Dude, it would totally freak you out," Dustin assured him. "It even freaks me out sometimes. Like now, I'm thinking, 'Is he tricking me now? No, he likes me too much. But what is too much? Like, can you have too much pizza? Or too much ice cream? Or too much talent? Or too much good looks?"

"You can definitely _think_ too much," Tobi suggested, shaking his head. When he stopped, Dustin was staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," he said quickly, looking away.

Tobi furrowed his brow. "So... where's Hunter?"

"He and Blake are outside guarding Ninja Ops," Dustin explained. "Shane's there too."

"Can Shane morph?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"No," Dustin replied. "He's just like... keeping an eye on them." When Tobi gave him a confused look, he added, "You know, in case Hunter's not really Hunter. The right Hunter," he clarified.

"If the others are in this dimension now, we need to come up with a way to tell everyone apart," Tobi explained, "or else we'll get used like we did with my sister."

"We'll get... replaced one by one," Dustin realized, "like in Invasion of the Body Snatchers!"

"Something like that," Tobi agreed, looking at Tori. "And, while the duplicates take over, this dimension's real Power Rangers will become just like her, mindless drones."

Dustin's eyes widened. "We have to do something!" he shouted.

"I know," Tobi agreed. "Cam would know what to do, but... I think he feels personally betrayed."

Dustin nodded. "Dude! I have it!" he announced, his eyes lighting up. "We just need a difference between this Tori and the other Tori. Like, does she have a tattoo?"

"Tori has a tattoo?" Tobi asked.

"No! The other Tori!" Dustin corrected, shaking his head at how dense Tobi was compared to him.

"My sister doesn't have any tattoos either," Tobi admitted. "Naked, they both look the same and my sister's a good actress—or at least a good manipulator. She always gets her way." Suddenly he realized something. "This Tori is still a virgin. Blake had sex with my sister and she wasn't a virgin to begin with."

Dustin gave him a confused look. "I don't think Blake could tell," he pointed out.

Tobi thought some more. "There's this thing inside girls. I forget what it's called. I think it's hymen or something like that. Anyway, it snaps or breaks or something when a girl has sex for the first time."

Dustin grew wide-eyed. "Dude, you want everybody to look at Tori's... hole to see if she's still a virgin?" he threw a nervous glance to the still mind controlled Tori.

"No, no," Tobi disagreed. "When girls have sex for the first time they bleed. At least, Tori did. Don't ask me how I know that," he said quickly, shaking off the memory of his first time seeing his sister go all the way with a boy.

"Girls... bleed the first time?" Dustin asked, shocked.

"I don't know if all do," Tobi admitted.

"Do guys bleed their first time?" Dustin suddenly asked.

Tobi gave him a confused look. "No," he said. "Well, I guess if like no lubrication was used and the guy is _huge_."

Dustin again grew wide eyed. "Do you think Hunter is... _huge_?"

Tobi gave him a horrified look. "I, uh, thought you saw him when me and Hunter were comparing sizes."

Dustin blushed at the memory. "I couldn't tell much because your hands were in the way."

"Oh," Tobi realized. "Well, he's only a little bit bigger than me and you remember mine, right?"

His blush became more pronounced. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Hey, are you... huge?" Tobi asked hesitantly.

"Of course, dude," Dustin replied with a grin. "I'm like a horse!"

"Sure," Tobi agreed, shaking his head. He frowned. "I certainly hope Hunter isn't going to pound you senseless. If he hurts you..." He shook his head again, trying to shake off the image, though for some reason he found it... arousing. "Anyway, back on topic" he continued, feeling like he was in some very perverse version of a sex ed class, "you can't tell when a guy's lost his virginity—I mean, unless he's a bottom _and_ a whore. If there were two naked Hunters here and one was a virgin and the other wasn't, you probably couldn't tell the difference."

Dustin's eyes glazed over, no doubt because thoughts of two naked Hunters were dancing through his head.

"So, if we can convince Blake that my sister can't be the real Tori because she wasn't a virgin—" Tobi continued before looking at Dustin. "Are you listening?"

"Oh, yeah," he said quickly. "Awesome plan, dude."

Tobi blinked at him. "You were picturing Hunter naked, weren't you," he accused.

Dustin grinned sheepishly.

Tobi made a face before saying, "Well, you did only see me naked, so I guess I don't blame you."

"You're so cute when you're jealous," Dustin replied.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Tobi said, blushing and fidgeting. "So, how do we convince Blake that he had sex with the wrong Tori?"

"And totally crush his world," Dustin added.

"Right," Tobi agreed. "Cam would probably know about science type stuff like that, so if we can create doubt and get them to talk about a topic they both love, i.e. Tori, then the truth will come out. Hunter can help since he's Blake's brother and he had sex with a girl. That is, if Hunter trusts me."

Dustin's face flinched for a moment.

"I'm sure he trusts you," Tobi offered. "Things will work out. I don't care if he trusts me specifically," he lied.

"It's not that," Dustin said.

"Then what?" Tobi asked.

"Nevermind," Dustin mumbled.

"No, tell me!" Tobi insisted. "Please."

Dustin gave him a weak smile. "It's when I think about Hunter doing it with a girl..."

"I thought you wanted to have sex with a girl first too," Tobi reminded him.

"Yeah, about that," he muttered. "I thought about that and I think I just wanted to be like... normal and I thought it would make things more..." he struggled for the right word.

"Equal?" Tobi offered.

"Yeah, exactly. Equal," Dustin repeated. "I wouldn't be the inexperienced one. We'd be... equal."

"Oh," Tobi replied. "I get it. Look," he said, staring into Dustin's chocolate eyes, "you don't have to have sex with someone just to... prepare yourself for someone else. If you did, I'd say pretend like I'm a girl."

Dustin stared at Tobi with a shocked expression.

"I'm joking," Tobi assured him. "I just mean, you have to follow your heart, not your... fears."

Dustin smiled at him. "Thanks, TZT."

"Anytime," Tobi replied, feeling suddenly emotional. "Let's get this plan moving, okay?"

"Right!" Dustin agreed, spinning around.

"Good luck!" Tobi offered.

"Hey, TZT," Dustin said before leaving. "I'm glad you're not a girl." And, with a wink, he left and Tobi felt a sense of loss sweep over him. He was never going to get used to that. But, he had his own problem to face. He had to find a way to break Lothor's hold on Tori.

* * *

For the next hour, Tobi tried doing everything short of actually fighting back against Tori to try to snap her out of her mind control. He tried talking to her, asking her questions, dodging her kicks. Nothing.

After a while, his one-way conversation had turned into a confessional, but not just of his secrets. He told her about Cam's crush on her, though he left out the fact that he had a cyber version of her that was programmed to strip and say things like, "Cam, I _need_ you." He told her about Sensei's late night munchies, Dustin's Pinky and the Brain figures, Shane's admission that even he thought some guys were cute and Hunter's bathroom kiss with Dustin. It was when he came to Blake that something changed.

"And so he must have been so excited to finally have sex with you that he didn't stop to ask himself why you suddenly changed so much," Tobi continued. "And, after they did it again, Tori—my sister—was dangling the used condom in my face and I was like—"

"Gah!" Tori suddenly made a sound.

"Exactly," Tobi agreed. "I was like—Wait! Tori!" He suddenly realized what had happened. "Tori? Can you hear me?" he cautiously reached out to touch her. For a moment, nothing happened, but then she lashed out again and he was forced to back off.

"Almost," he thought outloud. "You almost came back. Maybe I'm just not the right one to pull you through this." He sighed and sat down on his cot. "Everything would have been different if I had been born here instead. We'd have grown up together and we'd be close. Plus, maybe I would have had a chance with Dustin before Hunter ever reentered his life." He thought about that. "But, I guess either way, he might have still ended up with Hunter. Maybe he never would have loved me back." He sighed. "My sister was right when she said nobody loves me here. Of course, she also said she thought I belonged here."

He brushed his hair away from his face in frustration. "If I had never ended up in this dimension, sure I'd still feel like a misfit, but I'd never know anything else so I'd be okay with it. I'd just keep going through every day being ridiculed by my sister's friends while they trash the..." He paused, realizing something. "My sister's friends," he repeated. "That's who they are. Sure, we hung out and even grew up together, but they were never _my_ friends."

He thought of Dustin's words, calling him and Hunter "good _friends_." He even thought of himself and Cam. That's why they felt so betrayed. His dimension's version's of them never would have been hurt by him. They couldn't be because they didn't... _care_. Not even Dustin cared. "You care about me," he realized outloud. "You all care about me here. And... I care about you." Rather than his realization making him feel better, for some reason he actually felt worse. It was one thing to have people you don't care about and who don't care about you mad at you. It was another thing entirely to have people you felt so strongly about and who also cared about you feeling betrayed.

Before he realized he was doing it, he had started to cry. But, rather than feeling embarrassed, he didn't try to hide his face. After all, it's not like Tori was even aware of—

Suddenly he felt something warm touch his hands. Confused, he looked up quickly and saw Tori holding his hands in her own. For a moment, she seemed to almost be glowing in the reflected light from his evaporated tears. He gave her a surprised and confused look. "Tori?" he asked, but she just pulled him up into a hug and began crying on his shoulder. "Tori," he whispered. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this... _together_." He pulled her away so he could look into her eyes. "Are you... yourself now?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "I'm... sorry."

He gave her a confused look.

"I remember... _everything_," she told him, tears still filling her eyes.

"Oh," Tobi realized.

"It was like I was watching myself through my own eyes, but I couldn't..." She began crying uncontrollably.

"It's okay," Tobi assured her. "It's not your fault. Lothor somehow did this to you. Everyone will forgive you. They... they care about you. _I_ care about you."

She gave him a weak smile before saying, "It wasn't Lothor."

"What!" Tobi replied, shocked. "Was it my sister or... the other Power Rangers?"

"No," she shook her head. "It was some monster that Marah and Kapri introduced to Lothor." Her eyes filled with fear. "We have to warn the guys. If it attacks the city and they go to fight it..."

"They'll become drones too," Tobi realized.

He immediately reached down for his communicator. "Cam!" he shouted.

"What do you want?" Cam's voice replied coldly.

"Tori's okay now," he told him.

"I can see that for myself," Cam replied. "She's out here."

Apparently Dustin hadn't been able to convince him who the real Tori was. "So... you haven't talked to Dustin, Blake and Hunter yet?" Tobi asked.

"Dustin's with Shane, guarding the entrance into Ninja Ops while Hunter and Blake check out a monster that's attacking downtown," Cam explained. "Now, I need to get back to work on repairs so we won't be—"

"You have to warn Hunter and Blake!" Tobi interrupted, shouting. "The monster can control people's minds. It's what Lothor used on Tori."

There was a moment of silence. "I'll warn them," he said without revealing whether or not he believed Tobi. "Hunter, Blake," Cam's voice said while Tobi used his communicator to listen in. "Tobi says that the monster you're fighting might pose some additional danger. He claims it can influence people's minds. I don't know if I believe him or not, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious."

There was a long pause.

"Blake? Hunter?" Cam repeated.

Tobi looked at Tori. "Do you think you can get us out of here even though you can't morph?"

She smiled and replied, "I'm still a ninja," before adding, "And, Tobi... to me, you are my brother."

Tobi smiled at her as she focused on the door.

Smash! The door flew off its hinges as water rushed past it. Tobi worried briefly about the water flooding Ninja Ops again, but he quickly found concentrating made the water evaporate. It then vanished back to wherever it had come from.

"Cam!" Tori shouted, running into the main room of Ninja Ops. "We have to help Hunter and Blake."

"How did you get out?" Cam asked, standing up, startled.

"Nevermind that," Tobi spoke up. "They're in trouble."

"Not as much trouble as you'll be in for letting _her_ out," Tobi's sister warned.

He glared at her.

"I'll deal with you later," Tori told Tobi's sister, a spark of anger behind her eyes. "Cam, try to get our suits online. I'm going to get Shane and Dustin to help." She then ran for the exit.

Cam looked between the fleeing Tori and Tobi's sister. With both of them now in their ninja training suits, they looked exactly identical.

"I know what you're thinking," Tobi told Cam, "And I'll make up your mind for you. The Tori you know and love is the one who cares enough about others to run out unarmed to help them." He eyed his sister accusingly.

Cam looked like he was analyzing the situation. Then his eyes lit up. He suddenly grabbed what looked like a big gun and pointed it at Tobi's sister, but he wasn't fast enough, as she kicked it out of his hands.

Cam quickly returned a kick, but she just jumped while knocking him against his computer.

Just then, Sensei somersaulted into Tobi's sister. Surprisingly, his little body caused her to fall to the ground. She flipped backward and stood with her hands raised, glancing between Cam, Sensei and Tobi. "I'd love to stick around, but it's time to regroup," she said quickly, streaking out of Ninja Ops.

"Get the morphers working," Tobi told Cam. "I'm going after her!"

Cam started to speak up, but Tobi was already streaking after his sister, his inner ninja glowing brightly.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

_

* * *

Author's Note: That's right, action scenes coming up..._


	18. Sibling Showdown

**Author's Notes:**_ This is my first attempt at an action-centered chapter. Please let me know honestly what you think. I can take it! There was a lot of buildup in the story as it led up to this chapter, so I hope it turned out how I hoped it would. Now, on to the reviews!_

_Don't worry, _**Magichalo**_, I will never forget the drama! But some action was necessary to further the story. Sorry to confuse you with what you want for Tobi. You'll either be more confused or less (that really narrows it down) as the other Power Rangers enter the picture in this chapter. And... a whole lot of other stuff happens. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Yay! I succeeded in character development! I'm glad you like Tobi's change throughout the story, _**cancermoon**_, as it shows I have been able to do what I had hoped in that area. As for what powers he'll have, you'll get a peak at them during end of this chapter, but I intentionally keep things vague... Oh, and your line about "showdown between siblings" actually gave me the idea for the name of this chapter!_

_Tobi thanks you, _**YellowPrincess**_, for thinking he's brilliant! Hmmm... Since I made up Tobi, does that make me brilliant? Ha! Anyway, this chapter is a bit longer and all action centric, so it took longer. I hope it still counts as "update soon" because I'm doing my best! Glad you keep coming back for more!_

_Ah! So, "Catch ya on the flip side" means "see you later"? Thanks for educating me, _**Ghostwriter**_! I feel kind of out of the slang loop now. Is there a slang loop? And to think, I watched the MMPR movie just recently too! Anyway, hope the action lives up to your hopes/expectations and catch ya on the flip side!_

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi is locked in a room with a brainwashed version of this dimension's Tori. His sister pays him a visit, but he refuses to apologize for betraying her to help the others. Then Dustin wants to talk to him. After finally convincing Dustin that the Tori trapped in the room with Tobi is just mind controlled and that Tobi's sister from his dimension is the one outside the room that everyone thinks is their real friend, Tobi come up with a plan to convince Blake and Cam they have their Toris mixed up. Later, Tobi realized that the Power Rangers from this dimension actually care about him, unlike back in his dimension and that's why they feel betrayed. After crying, Tori comes to her senses and the two break out of the room in an attempt to warn the others about the monster that can control minds like it had Tori's. After a brief fight, Tobi's sister escapes. While this dimension's Tori goes off to find the others, Tobi chases after his sister ...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 18 (Sibling Showdown)**

* * *

Now that Tobi knew how to ninja streak, it wasn't hard for him to catch up with his sister. She was pretty easy to spot too, being the only blur traveling close to the speed of light while running away from him.

But the chase was short lived, as she was the first to stop. Tobi skidded to a halt, a wave of sand flying out from his feet.

"Since when can you streak?" his sister asked him.

Tobi looked around. They had stopped at the beach and behind his sister was an enormous glowing crack. Edges of gold flickered out from the center as it appeared to be floating on—or possibly in—the water. "When I tried on your—the other Tori's morpher," he quickly corrected, "things changed inside me."

"Like your feelings for me?" she asked coldly, crossing her arms.

"No," he defended. "Look, can we forget about the whole sibling rivalry thing?"

"Is that what you think this is?" she asked, glaring at him.

"We need to seal this hole or it will destroy both our dimensions!" Tobi announced.

"Who told you that?" She asked skeptically.

"Cam" Tobi replied. "He's to this dimension what Dustin is to ours."

She looked back at the expanding crack and thought for a moment. When she turned around, she actually had a smile on her face.

"What?" he asked her.

"Don't you see?" she said, gesturing toward the dimensional hole. "We send the Power Rangers from this dimension to ours and close this thing behind them. With Lothor on our side, no one can stop us. This world will be ours."

Tobi stared at her in horror.

"Don't look at me like that," she protested. "Our mom is alive in this dimension."

"But she doesn't even know me because I wasn't born here," Tobi pointed out.

"We can change all that by building new memories," she insisted. "We can make this home and our friends will—"

"They're not my friends," Tobi interrupted.

"Of course they are!" she insisted.

"I'll stop you," he promised.

She gave him a sympathetic look. "Things don't have to be like this between us."

He felt his emotions overwhelming his judgment. He didn't want to fight with his sister, but... she didn't seem to leave him another option.

She watched Tobi's eyes glisten and seemed to realize something. "I'm sorry, Tobi, but it's for the best." Suddenly she caused a massive tidal wave to sweep over the beach. Using it as cover, she quickly streaked off.

Tobi put up his hands and tried to focus on deflecting the wave, but it still hit him with a force that knocked him off his feet and washed him far inland. By the time he had regained his footing, he only had a sense of the general direction his sister had gone.

* * *

Tobi continued to streak through alleys, over fences and through parks until he saw a commotion downtown. Skidding to a stop, he found his sister standing next to what looked like a large brain with tentacles. He noticed Blake and Hunter, both morphed, nearby. Beside them were Tori, Dustin and Shane. They all had blank looks on their faces. He realized he was too late.

"I told you she was good," a female voice commented behind Tobi.

"Like she's so much better than me?" another replied. Tobi turned to see Marah and Kapri arguing.

"Rangers," bring him to me," a deep, booming voice called. Tobi couldn't really tell a direction because it was almost like it was inside his head, but he knew it was coming from the alien behind him.

He spun around and looked at the flailing tentacles reaching out for him and the blank-faced ninjas approaching him and he knew that he didn't stand a chance. If he tried to fight them, they'd win and he'd be brainwashed just like them, so he turned on his heals and decided to streak back to Ninja Ops. Maybe Cam would know what to do. He _had_ to trust Tobi by now.

But, before Tobi could rush off, Marah and Kapri grabbed him by his arms.

"Shane! Dustin! Tori!" Cam's voice came from the three drone's morphers. Cam was trying to get in touch with the others, which meant... they could morph now. "Are you guys morphed yet? Respond!" Cam continued, confirming Tobi's suspicions.

Tobi swiftly flipped backward, twisting his arms so that Marah and Kapri ended up landing on their heads. Naturally, they were not happy. "Get him!" Kapri screamed.

He once again turned to flee, but now Blake and Hunter blocked his path. They drew their thunder weapons.

"Don't hurt him," Tobi's sister called out. "Just bring him over here."

Tobi threw a kick and a couple punches, but fighting against morphed versions of Blake and Hunter was like trying to fight marble statues. If only he had on his sister's morpher. Instead, he found himself being dragged toward the ugly brain alien's waiting tentacles.

"I would have liked to have changed your mind with words," Tobi's sister told him, "but—"

Just then a sword struck Blake and Hunter, sending them tumbling backwards. A morphed version of Cam appeared before Tobi. "Why didn't you guys morph?" he called out to Shane, Dustin and Tori. "Did they morph first? Or, are you... them?"

"They're being controlled by _that_," Tobi told him.

Cam immediately began slashing away at the creature's flailing tentacles.

"Cam, wait!" Tobi shouted.

Tobi's sister assessed the situation. "It looks like you three can join the party. Well, two of you anyway," she added, activating her morpher. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! Power of Water! Shane, Dustin, you too."

As the brainwashed Shane and Dustin activated their morphers, Cam turned to them. "No!" he shouted, but his momentary distraction was just the opportunity the alien needed. A tentacle quickly wrapped around his waist. He fought against it for only a moment before stopping.

The tentacle then released its grip and Cam, still in his Samurai Power Ranger suit, turned his sword toward Tobi.

Tobi only had a single moment and he couldn't waist it with indecision. Instead, he streaked off and he kept running until he finally decided on a destination: Ninja Ops.

* * *

When Tobi streaked into Ninja Ops and saw Cyber Dustin busy typing away on Cam's barely repaired computer, he was so excited that he ran right up to him and kissed him on the cheek, which earned him a surprised blush. "You don't know how glad I am to see you!" he shouted. "The others are in trouble. They're being controlled by some brain with tentacles."

"Mindzine," Cyber Dustin offered.

"Right," Tobi agreed. "I barely made it back here and I'm sure they'll be right behind me. The only advantage we have is that aliens can't pass through the waterfall portal. But ninjas can—and the other Power Rangers. What do we have in way of defenses?"

"I could put the entire place on lockdown," Cyber Dustin said. "No one could get in, or out."

Tobi spontaneously hugged Cyber Dustin, causing him to jump at the surprise. "Forget what I said about you not being real. You're just what I need right now... and you did give me my first blowjob," he added. "Let's put the place on lockdown!"

Cyber Dustin blushed before composing himself. "So, I... gave you a blowjob?" he asked.

"Oh," Tobi realized. "I guess Cam couldn't recover all your memories. Then again, maybe he wanted you more focused on work. Yeah," he agreed, "that's probably for the best. After all, we have to help the _real_ Dustin." Tobi thought about that. "There are two real Dustin's here now that the Dustin from my dimension's here. At least, I assume he came with the rest."

"What do you think of... your dimension's Dustin?" Cyber Dustin asked with genuine interest in his eyes.

Tobi sighed. "Well, of course he's really hot, but that's not hard. Even you're designed to be hot, CD," he said, earning him another blush from Cyber Dustin. "I just thought of that. Cyber Dustin, CD." He smiled and continued, "I always had a crush on him and I was convinced I might actually love him... until I came here."

Cyber Dustin raised an eyebrow.

"The Dustin here is geeky like the Dustin back in my dimension," he continued, "but it's a different kind of geeky. They both have kind of odd tastes in movies and shows and stuff, but that's about where it stops. My dimension's Dustin was a master manipulator, whereas this dimension's Dustin is the one constantly being used and manipulated. There's something so... innocent and... radiant about him and his personality. He's trusting and caring to a fault. I guess both Dustin's have this irresistible charm that draws people to them and lights up a room, but this Dustin uses it to keep everyone's spirits up with humor. My dimension's Dustin uses it to get his way. I guess that's why I came to realize that the Dustin I truly love is this dimension's Dustin." He tried to shake off the emotions that came with saying that outloud. "Anyway, we have to help him... and the others."

Cyber Dustin's eyes seemed to flicker and grow cold.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked. "Are we on lockdown yet?"

"No," Cyber Dustin replied. "I think I have to cross circuit the reactive buffers."

"Then do it!" Tobi encouraged.

Cyber Dustin typed something on Cam's computer. "I bet you'd be really upset if something happened to this dimension's Dustin," he said without looking away from the computer screen.

"Something bad has already happened to him," Tobi reminded him. "He's being mind controlled."

"But what if something bad happened to your dimension's Dustin?" Cyber Dustin asked.

Tobi had to think about that. "I guess I'd be upset, but it might be something he deserved or even caused."

"So, if you had to choose, you would choose this dimension's Dustin?" Cyber Dustin asked.

Tobi gave him a puzzled look. This was a strange line of questioning, but he still answered, "Yeah, I would." He thought of Dustin choosing Hunter and wondered why he'd still choose someone who would never love him back. It made no sense, but then love in general made no sense.

"Hey, it's fairy elf dude," came Cam's voice.

Tobi turned to see Cyber Cam entering the room, but no... The line he said wasn't something Cyber Cam would say, even though he looked and acted like—"Cam!" he realized. It was his dimension's Cam. That was when it finally sunk in why Cyber Dustin was acting so strange. It wasn't Cyber Dustin at all. "Dustin," he whispered, turning back to the real Dustin that he had just been confessing his feelings to and finally noticing the small detail of the longer eyelashes than Cyber Dustin.

"You never were as smart as me," Dustin told Tobi. "Probably why you and Shane had to copy off me during tests." He stood up and walked over to a still shocked Tobi. "And I knew how you felt about me, Tobs. You didn't exactly try to hide it. And, if I felt anything for you at all, I'd act on it, but I don't," he said coldly. "I feel nothing but pity for you... and for your fate. I hope you're happy with the wannabe me because you're going to be with him a long time."

"Dustin, I—" Tobi began.

"Save it," Dustin interrupted, turning away. "We're going."

"Finally some action!" Cam cheered. "Dude, where's my hat? No action without hat. It's like a rule!"

"It's on your head, Cam," a voice answered. Tobi turned to see Shane and Hunter standing at the opening to Ninja Ops. They were both grinning smugly. His escape was blocked and he was significantly outnumbered. He knew fighting would get him nowhere.

"Listen, guys," he began, "you don't have to do this. The Power Rangers here _protect_ the city from Lothor. It's actually kinda... noble when you think about it."

"Lame is more like it," Shane growled.

"Come on, let's go already," Hunter chimed in impatiently.

"You won't win," Tobi told them. "In the end, the bad guys always loose."

This caused the others to laugh hysterically. Even Dustin was cracking up as if Tobi had told the funniest joke ever.

"He is right," came a familiar, wise voice from behind Tobi.

Tobi spun around in time to see Sensei jump toward Shane and Hunter. Something flew out of his tiny hands and Tobi caught it. Looking down, he realized it was… a scroll.

Meanwhile, Shane and Hunter tried to swat at the flying furball, but Sensei was too fast for them. Plus, he was pretty strong for being so small. Shane was hurled into Hunter with a single somersault kick.

"It's like Yoda fighting Count Dooku," Cam commented, enjoying the action. "Where's the popcorn?"

Dustin just reached for the oversized gun Cam had tried to use against Tobi's sister earlier.

"Now would be an opportune time for your escape, Tobi," Sensei suggested, dodging a green laser blast.

"But what about you?" Tobi asked.

"You were able to"—zap!—"bring Tori out of her"—somersault!—"mental control, so you must do the same for"—crash!—"the others," Sensei told him. "And"—jump!—"the scroll should help."

With Sensei as a distraction and a target, Tobi streaked out of Ninja Ops, scroll in hand. The problem was how to get the others away from that alien long enough to break the mind control?

* * *

Tobi found a clearing to stop in long enough to examine the scroll. Unrolling it in his hands, he couldn't help but be surprised. Rather than the usual unreadable writing or even glowing page, the scroll seemed to be a mirror. He bent the reflective surface, distorting his image, and wondered what he was supposed to do with a mirror. Obviously Cam would be the most logical choice for who to free from control first, but did he just show Cam his reflection? It was worth a try, he figured. And so, he streaked off in search of the alien Mindzine and his victims.

* * *

This dimension's brainwashed Power Rangers and Mindzine had gathered with Tobi's dimension's Power Rangers at the beach near the dimensional hole. As Tobi hid and watched, he knew that it was a huge risk just to test if the scroll did what he thought it might do.

He spotted Cam standing motionless while Tobi's dimension's Cam waved a hand in front of him and seemed to be teasing his zoned out duplicate.

How to get Cam away from the others? Maybe he just needed Cam's attention. He'd get him to look his way while holding the scroll open. The moment Cam had seen his reflection, Tobi would then streak out of there. But how to get the attention of a drone?

He thought of Tori's brief reaction at the mention of Blake's used condom and figured maybe something that elicits a strong emotional response might briefly draw his attention. An idea came to him and he decided to act on it before it was too late.

He streaked around to a spot where Cam would be able to see him easily, the scroll already open in his hands. "Cam!" he called out. "Your dad's in trouble!"

It had worked. Cam turned to face Tobi. Unfortunately, the others had noticed too, so he quickly streaked off.

He had to run through a few streets before he was sure he'd lost any pursuers and could safely return to the beach, but when he returned, everyone was still there. Also, Cam still looked mindless. At first he wondered why it hadn't worked and then he thought about how Cam was always wearing glasses in this dimension. Maybe he was extremely nearsighted. Or, maybe the scroll only worked up close. Then again, maybe Cam's visor protected him from the effect. Either way, it was a huge risk to get close enough. He was sure to be captured and what then? He was their only hope. He thought about that and wondered how many times he had wanted to be a hero. He had always thought that, if he had ninja powers like his sister's friends, he'd use them differently. Now was his chance.

"The interdimensional rupture will tear apart the two dimension's in less than nineteen hours," Tobi heard his dimension's Dustin explain to the others. Tobi immediately repositioned himself to hear more.

"How do we seal it—with _them_ on the other side?" Tobi's dimension's Shane asked in a low, growling voice.

"Someone's going to have to sacrifice their Power Ranger abilities," Dustin replied.

"I have just the person," Tobi's sister quickly chimed in. She then powered down and returned to her black ninja training suit. "Tori," she addressed. "I'm feeling generous today. You get to morph... one last time."

"Stop!" Dustin called, but it was too late. Tori had morphed. He then approached the two Toris. "If she makes the sacrifice now, _you'll_ never be able to morph again."

"What!" Tobi's sister replied in shock.

"I need to realign her morpher to our dimension—to our _old_ dimension," he corrected, motioning for Tobi's sister to have Tori demorph. "Otherwise, she's calling on the morphing matrix from this dimension." He turned to face the others while Tori powered down. "All of us should swap our morphers with our look-alikes."

The others then began swapping morphers with their counterparts. That meant that the brainwashed ninjas were forced to demorph. This left everyone's vision clear. It also meant he at least had a chance at fighting them off if it came to that.

Tobi seized the opportunity and flew into action, streaking to a stop directly in front of Cam and holding the scroll up to Cam's face.

Cam blinked for a moment before shutting his eyes and falling to the sand. "Ah!" he cried out, clutching his head.

Something had happened this time, so Tobi tried to streak off, but he found himself surrounded. He had streaked right into the middle of a trap.

He managed to land a few kicks against his sister's friends, but he found fighting difficult while holding the still open scroll. Though it did momentarily blind his attackers when it reflected the sun, he was trying to aim it toward his mind controlled companions. Of course, doing that left him open to a spinning kick from Blake.

When he tumbled to the sand, he lost his grip on the scroll and it rolled away from him.

He looked around quickly while also trying to dodge attacks until he saw it near a still head-clutching Cam. "Cam!" he called out. "Grab the scroll and show the others their reflection. It'll free them."

Cam shook off whatever pain he was in and grabbed the scroll. After a quick evaluation, he headed with it over to the nearest mind controlled person to him, which was this dimension's Tori.

Tobi lost track of what was happening momentarily as he tried to focus on fighting enough to not constantly be on the ground.

Suddenly he heard Cam cry out again and looked over to see Mindzine grab Cam with its tentacles. "Tori, the mirror, use the—" was all Cam managed to get out before he fell victim to the mind control for a second time.

Tori dove for the scroll just as Mindzine's tentacles wriggled after her. She only had time to lift up the scroll, its reflective surface facing the alien.

Rather than cry out in pain like Cam had, Mindzine seemed intrigued by the mirrored scroll. Slipping its tentacles around the scroll's top, it brought the reflective surface closer and studied it. "I'm so beautiful," it gloated.

This made the others briefly stop fighting Tobi as they watched Mindzine admire itself.

"Someone definitely needs his eyes checked," Tobi's dimension's Hunter commented, making a face.

Suddenly the scroll shattered, broken pieces of its mirrored texture falling to the sand. For a moment, Tobi was worried that the scroll had overloaded, but then he noticed the vacant look in Mindzine's googley eyes.

"Mindzine, what's wrong?" Tobi's sister asked.

When it didn't answer, Tobi thought of something. "Mindzine, stand on your head!" he shouted.

The others gasped as the alien did just that, flipped upside down and used its tentacles to lifts its oversized brainy body.

This dimension's Cam was quick to catch on and called out an order before anyone else had a chance to recover from the surprise. "Mindzine," he shouted, "go blow yourself up!"

And the alien did just that, waddled off and exploded in a massive fireball.

Immediately, the remaining mind controlled Power Rangers came to their senses. Fortunately for them, their recoveries lacked the headache that apparently the scroll caused.

"This is so not looking good, dudes" Tobi's dimension's Cam commented as two versions of each ninja faced off against each other.

"Morph now!" this dimension's Cam called out, activating his own morpher.

But, as nothing happened, the Power Rangers from Tobi's dimension began to laugh. Then they activated their own morphers… and morphed.

"They switched morphers!" Tobi realized.

Suddenly his rescue was not looking as good as it had only seconds before. Unmorphed Power Rangers were no match for morphed Power Rangers.

Tobi's sister and her fellow morphed Power Rangers gloated over their obvious advantage.

"You're going through that thing one way or another," the morphed Shane growled, gesturing toward the expanding dimensional hole.

"It won't be willingly, that's for sure," the unmorphed Shane promised, raising his arms and preparing to fight.

"Kapri, Marah," the morphed Shane called.

"We're here," a voice replied just as Marah and Kapri suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They were holding some sort of glowing ball.

"Stop picking your nose," Kapri scolded. "We're visible now."

Marah quickly obeyed and gave the others a sheepish grin while the morphed Hunter walked over and grabbed the glowing ball. It looked like something was inside the ball… and it looked like a guinea pig in a robe.

"Dad!" the unmorphed Cam shouted, confirming what Tobi had seen.

"Hey!" Kapri protested. "I thought we got to keep him."

"Yeah," Marah agreed. "Our uncle's not gonna be happy."

"Tell him to bill us," the morphed Hunter replied with a laugh, handing the ball to his morphed brother.

"Is that Sensei?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah and he did this before," the unmorphed Tori answered. "The sphere protects him."

"Not from everything," the unmorphed Cam chimed in.

The morphed Shane nodded and the morphed Blake dropped the ball. He then kicked it high into the air and straight for the dimensional hole. The moment it reached the glowing edge, it vanished. "Oops," the morphed Blake said. "My bad." He then began laughing and the others followed suit.

Meanwhile, the unmorphed Cam was staring in horror at the dimensional hole.

"Fetch!" the morphed Hunter teased, still laughing.

"Oh, this is so on," the unmorphed Dustin said, preparing to fight.

"Bring it," the morphed Dustin agreed.

Tobi's sister turned to her brother.

"I don't want to fight you," he told her.

"That makes two of us," she replied, turning her head briefly to see that the two Dustins and Shanes had begun fighting. "Besides, you can't morph and you can't win."

"That won't stop me from trying," Tobi replied, taking up a fighting stance.

"Suit yourself, little brother," she said, taking up a similar stance.

Suddenly Tobi felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see Tori. She smiled at him before turning to address his sister. "How about two against one?" she called.

Tobi's sister tilted her helmet to the side and shrugged. "A little more fair," she agreed, "but not much." She then launched into an air kick that propelled her toward Tobi and Tori. The impact sent them both flying across the sand until they landed at the water's edge.

Tobi looked from the Tori at his side to his sister and he had no doubt whatsoever anymore where his loyalties belonged. He kicked off the wet sand, backflipping over and diving straight down onto his sister.

Meanwhile, Tori summoned a torrent of water from the ocean surf, but Tobi's sister raised her arms and sent it spraying right back against her.

Tobi tried to focus on controlling the water to help the unmorphed Tori out, but found that he could no longer focus on the water itself. Instead, there was something else, maybe something within the water...

He was distracted when he heard Dustin called out. He looked over to see which Dustin it was and his sister's morphed foot connected with his chest, sending him tumbling around in the air before falling very painfully on his side.

He quickly stood up and resumed fighting alongside Tori against his morphed sister.

"Dustin!" Hunter's voice called out.

Tobi looked over to see the unmorphed Dustin being held down by the morphed Blake and Hunter while the morphed Dustin approached.

The unmorphed Hunter streaked over to the two Dustins, but the morphed Shane intercepted him and easily fought back the unmorphed Hunter, Blake and Shane on his own. Suddenly a blast hit Blake, sending him crashing against Shane.

Tobi looked over to see Marah and Kapri joining the fight. Apparently, Marah could shoot a beam out of her fingertips.

"Here," the morphed Dustin called, bending over his counterpart. "I'm going to set his morpher to trigger and then overload a few minutes after he's in our old dimension."

"Are you even trying, Tobi?" Tobi's sister interrupted his attention. He once again tried to focus on the water that the two Toris were hurling back and forth while still fighting off his sister's moves. There was something else he sensed...

Then he saw the morphed Power Rangers lifting an unmorphed, defenseless Dustin into the air, preparing to throw him toward the dimensional hole. "Get your hands off him!" Tobi yelled just as the unmorphed Hunter was knocked to the ground while attempting to help the unmorphed Dustin.

"You can't win, little brother," Tobi's sister declared just as Dustin was hurled through the air.

A feeling of such intense emotions boiled through him as he finally found something intangible that he could control.

Boom! Just then, a blindingly bright flash followed by a massive shock wave exploded out from Tobi. The wave sent everyone, including the airborne Dustin, skidding across the sand. In the end, the only person left standing was Tobi, and he was more in shock than anything else.

"Dude, what was that?" the unmorphed Dustin asked, recovering himself.

"That was... Tobi," the unmorphed Hunter replied. "Don't ask me what he did."

Zap! Before Tobi could see it coming, a blast of purple energy hit him and he was thrown into the surf. He sputtered water as he gasped for air and tried to summon the energy necessary to lift himself out of the shallow water. When he looked up, he saw Lothor... flying. "Don't let it be said I always have others do my work for me," Lothor called down from above.

Crack! Suddenly the ground around him shook and he felt something pull him backward. He turned to see the dimensional hole shimmering and expanding rapidly. Water from the ocean began flying up into the air, where it was sucked out of the dimension.

"The oxygen's ionizing," the unmorphed Cam called out. "Tobi separated the hydrogen out of the surrounding air and converted the photonic energy into kinetic energy. The fissure is destabilizing."

The morphed Power Rangers turned to the morphed Dustin. "He's right," he told them, opening his visor so they could see the seriousness in his eyes. "We only have a matter of moments before both dimension's are destroyed."

"I have no desire to be the ruler of a nonexistent dimension," Lothor declared, landing.

"Who said _you'd_ rule it?" the morphed Shane asked.

"Tori!" Tobi called out, clawing at the sand as he was slowly dragged across it toward the rapidly expanding dimensional hole.

Tobi's sister began to instinctively approach her brother, but then she stopped herself and instead just opened her visor and watched him.

"Leave him, Tori," the morphed Hunter called.

Instead, the unmorphed Tori grabbed Tobi's hands while controlling the water to push against his feet. She managed to pull him far enough away from the fractured dimensional hole that he no longer had to fight against it.

"Maybe, since apparently our dimension's Tobi is an exact opposite of us, this dimension's Tobi will be... less of a wimp," the morphed Dustin commented in a dismissive tone.

"There's no Tobi in this dimension," Tobi's sister told him. "Here, I don't have a twin."

Tobi looked from his sister to the morphed Dustin. Behind his open helmet, something seemed to flicker in Dustin's eyes... Regret? Whatever it was, he quickly blinked it away.

"If you have your clone's morpher rigged, D-man, we gotta send them over now," the morphed Blake said.

"Don't touch him!" Tobi yelled as the morphed Power Rangers once again prepared to throw Dustin, but this time Tobi barely had the energy to lift himself off the ground.

The unmorphed Hunter and Blake ran toward the morphed Power Rangers, but a purple blast hit them, quickly incapacitating the two just as the blast had done for Tobi.

"No!" the unmorphed Hunter chocked out as Dustin flew over their heads and... vanished upon touching the edge of the glowing hole.

"We have to go after my father and Dustin," the unmorphed Cam called just as a purple beam hit him.

"Allow me to give you a hand," Lothor called out, turning to Marah and Kapri. "Girls, help your uncle clean up."

Marah and Kapri then proceeded to throw the incapacitated Hunter and Blake toward the dimensional hole, where the two vanished.

"Hurry up," the morphed Shane growled, rapidly beating up his unmorphed counterpart. "We don't want them stuck here with us."

"Not gonna be a problem, dude," the morphed Cam agreed, grabbing and throwing the unmorphed Cam toward the dimensional hole.

"You'll pay for this, Lothor," the unmorphed Shane cried out, clutching his stomach in pain from the barrage of blows.

"Talk to me, not him," the morphed Shane warned, easily lifting his counterpart and snarling in his face before tossing him with one arm.

"It's not too late to change your mind, Tobi," Tobi's sister told him as she blasted the unmorphed Tori with water. By the time Tori had recovered, she was too close to the ever expanding hole and was pulled toward it. She screamed moments before vanishing.

"The wannabe me's morpher will overload and seal the dimensional rupture any moment now," the remaining, morphed Dustin told Tobi's sister. "You have to make your choice now."

Tobi could see the indecision in his sister's eyes. She... cared about him. But, he had to tell her. "'ll never be able to go along with your friends' plans," he said, blinking up at her.

"Tobi," she said slowly, tears obvious behind her eyes. "You're my brother and I'm your sister. We're..."

"Make up your mind already," Hunter said, tapping his foot.

"I'll just try to stop you," Tobi told his sister. He could have lied, said he'd play nice and then use the opportunity to secretly work against them. It would be like going back to the way it was, his sister and her friends and him, the outcast. And that was the problem right there. He could never go back to who he was. He may have tried to act like one for a long time, but when it came down to it, he wasn't a punk. He belonged with _his_ friends.

"Just toss him," Shane growled.

"I'm sorry, Tobi," his sister told him. "Really, I am. And, despite everything, I hope you're... happy there. Goodbye... little brother." She then easily lifted her severely weakened brother and threw him toward the dimensional hole, tears running down her face the whole time.

Tobi felt himself land back on the beach, but he knew it wasn't the same beach.

"Tobi," Tori called out, running over to him.

"Dude, get it off me!" Tobi heard Dustin yell. He immediately tried to crawl over to the equally injured Dustin, now morphed in his yellow Power Ranger suit.

"You have to take off the morpher," Hunter said, moving himself to Dustin's side.

"I can't when I'm morphed," Dustin complained.

"What's happening?" Tobi asked, Tori helping him over to Dustin.

"Then unmorph," Hunter told Dustin.

"Dude, I can't!" Dustin cried, scrambling with his morpher.

"I heard the other Dustin say his morpher's set to overload or something like that," Shane spoke up, clutching his stomach.

"Cam, we need you over here!" Tori yelled.

"But I can't find my father," he insisted, scrambling around on his knees.

"He'll be fine, bro," Blake chimed in. "We need you over—"

Suddenly Dustin's body began to glow yellow. Tobi looked over at the enormous glowing crack between the dimensions and saw it began to flicker closed. Then—Boom! Dustin's body seemed to explode, sending everyone, especially Tobi, into fits of shock and horror, but when the smoke cleared, Dustin was lying on the sand in his regular clothes.

Hunter, being closest, was the first to grab his hand and hold it. "Dustin, are you okay?" he whispered.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he mumbled in response.

"Guys," Shane said, drawing their attention. He gestured toward the ocean. "We're stuck here."

And, as Tobi turned back to where the dimensional hole had been only moments ago, he saw nothing but sparkling ocean and clear blue sky stretching out far into the distant horizon...

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_Author's Note: So, there's my attempt at an action centered chapter. What do you think? Did I successfully create suspense and tension?_


	19. If You Love Someone, Make Them Happy

**ATTENTION: I've created a new poll that asks **_**What previous generation Power Ranger(s) should appear in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?**_** At the top left of this page, click on Rogue Ranger. My profile will load. At the top center of that page is the poll. As always, your opinions count!**

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **__A story idea came to me and I had to write it down. It's called __**Dustin in Heat**__ and I'm not sure if it's the kind of story that would appeal to the same audience as this story. Let's just say it's rated M for a reason!. If you're curious, read the warnings at the beginning of the first chapter. To get there, click on Rogue Ranger and then scroll down to the bottom of the page to see my stories. Don't worry, I won't let it interfere with my work on this story, but once I'm done with the Dustin in Heat smut… I mean, story, I want to write the story of the final Zord attack as it is referenced briefly in this chapter and how it shaped the lives of the parallel reality Power Rangers (and Tobi of course). As you may guess, it would have lots of action!_

_Thanks _**Ghostwriter**_ for the encouragement and praise! I reread the chapter and think it came out pretty well too. Oh, and I will assume that "landed right in Cooperston" means that I arrived at my goal._

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess**_ for declaring Tobi your favorite character! His heart is melting like warm chocolate! And, I have included a little something toward the end of this chapter just for you. Let's see if you can spot it… (Hint: T+H)_

_Both of you really liked the action and want me to do more, but… this chapter goes back to more drama and humor, as this chapter serves as a sort of aftermath to the action, where everything gets sorted out. Don't worry, I will do more action again! And now, on to the story…_

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**A monster called Mindzine is controlling the Power Rangers from this dimension, so Tobi returns to Ninja Ops in search of help, but what he thinks is Cyber Dustin turns out to be his dimension's Dustin. With the help of Sensei, who gives him a scroll, Tobi is able to escape. He then uses the scroll to free the others and have Mindzine destroy itself. But the other Power Rangers switched morpher with this dimension's ninjas and they stand no chance against the morphed rangers until Tobi creates a massive energy wave that destabilizes the hole between dimensions. Lothor appears to help defeat this dimension's ninjas and one by one they are hurled toward the dimensional hole and sent to Tobi's dimension. Tobi's sister wants him to stay with her, but he tells her he would be obligated to try and stop her so she is reluctantly forced to send him back to their dimension. Later, on the other side, Dustin's morpher overloads, using his yellow Power Ranger energy to seal the hole back to their dimension and trapping them all in Tobi's dimension...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 19 (If You Love Someone, Make Them Happy)**

* * *

Tobi turned from the crashing waves and cloudy blue sky where a giant glowing crack had been back down to Dustin as he lay on the sand. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked him.

"Yeah…" Dustin replied, blinking up at him. "Who are you?" He looked around at the others, scrunching up his face in confusion. "Who are you guys and where am I? And… who am I?"  
Tobi wasn't the only one to gasp. Dustin had lost his memory.

"Dude, Dustin, you have to remember us," Shane told him.

"Oh, Dustin," Tori added, sadness in her voice.

Hunter just kept holding Dustin's hand while Blake looked on, still in shock.

Tobi couldn't help but wonder if this would give him and Dustin a chance at… But, no, it was a selfish thought and he let it go. He'd do everything he could to make Dustin remember who he was before… All of who he was.

Suddenly a grin curled up on Dustin's pouting face. The grin grew wider until it became a smile and the smile grew until it became… a laugh.

The others looked down at him with surprised and confused faces.

"Dude!" Dustin declared between giggles. "You should see all your faces!" He was now laughing so hard he was crying. "Oh, that was classic," he said, wiping his eyes. "I have amnesia! As if that would happen!"

"Not cool, bro," Shane told him, frowning.

"We were really worried about you," Tori added.

"Yeah, you shouldn't do that kinda stuff to us, man," Blake said.

"If you ever do that again…" Hunter started to warn, gripping Dustin's hand tightly.

"Chill," Dustin told them. "I'm just trying to like lighten the mood. Things are pretty serious right now," he said, gesturing around them.

The others didn't seem to appreciate Dustin's sense of humor, but Tobi just shook his head. It was so Dustin.

"I've looked everywhere and I can't find my father," Cam's voice said as he approached the others. He noticed everyone's expressions. "What happened?"

"Just more of Dustin's… poorly timed humor," Tori replied, allowing a smile to crack her lips.

"So, what the other Dustin and you said…" Shane began, looking from Dustin to Cam, "he can't morph ever again?"

"No," Cam replied. "This dimension will not have a yellow Wind Ninja Power Ranger from now on."

Dustin's face fell, but after crying wolf, the others were more skeptical. "So… I can't ever morph and we're like… stuck here?"

"In theory, the rest of us can morph here," Cam replied, "except I think I need to realign Tori's morpher. We'll manage somehow if we even need our Power Ranger abilities here."

Meanwhile, Dustin continued to pout.

"Dustin's the one who always wanted to be a Power Ranger," Tobi reminded the others. "He's also the only one who believed in them. Back in your dimension, they were just urban legends or something."

"TZT's right," Dustin agreed, "but I'll be okay. Who needs the yellow Power Ranger anyway?"

"Dustin, we've always needed you," Tori told him.

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome," Dustin agreed. "Or… was anyway."

"We'll sort this out later," Cam chimed in. "For now, we need to find my father. I just know he's in trouble."

"We'll help you look for him," Shane immediately offered, standing.

The others agreed to help and joined him. Meanwhile, Tobi turned to Dustin. "I'll miss the way you look in spandex," he said, "but at least you're okay."

"You said humans and kelzacks and aliens and stuff live together in peace here, like singing kumbaya and all that," Dustin suggested. "Maybe they don't need Power Rangers. The others were evil anyway. And, dude, I can still make a spandex costume. I'd be… Awesome Dude!"

Tobi laughed briefly, rolling his eyes. "Sure," he agreed. "That's you."

Hunter turned around. "Or he could go by Lame Joker…" he suggested.

"Oh, you are so dead," Dustin warned, chasing Hunter.

Hunter just laughed and used the others as human shields.

"It seems some things never change from one dimension to the next," Cam commented.

"Boys will be boys," Tori suggested with a shrug.

"Boys… That sounds about right," Cam agreed.

* * *

After a while, the group came to a populated part of the beach. "I know what you're thinking, Tori said, gesturing around, "but the kelzacks are… _helping_ people."

The others stared at all the aliens playing alongside humans and kelzacks. Some big, ugly alien would be throwing a beach ball to a human girl in a bikini or a kelzack would be setting up an umbrella for a human family. To Tobi, this was all too familiar and, as strange as it seemed, he had actually kind of missed it. He could be around aliens and kelzacks without feeling a sense of tension. And, with his sister's friends no longer being the "Power Ranger Punks," It wasn't all in all bad to be stuck back in his dimension with… his friends.

"I think you'll like it here," he suggested. The others immediately turned to him with wide eyes. "What?" he asked. "I just mean that you guys won't have to constantly be fighting aliens all the time."

"He has a point," Tori agreed.

"Yeah, but do you want to _live_ here?" Shane asked, gesturing around.

"Uh, maybe not," she said as Inflatron walked by wearing a tank top that read "Lifeguard."

"Don't totally blow it off yet," Dustin suggested. "I think it's kinda cool."

"If only I had the Mobile Command Center," Cam complained. "I could probably track him."

"There is a Ninja Ops in this dimension," Tori pointed out.

Cam's eyes lit up. "Of course," he realized as if he really hadn't thought of that.

"You think they'd even notice if we streaked right here?" Blake asked, watching one alien use some ability to levitate a small human child that was giggling wildly.

The others exchanged looks before deciding to wait until they were out of sight, just in case.

* * *

The waterfall portal and Ninja Ops were located in the same spots in Tobi's dimension, just as Tori had found out the last time she "visited."

When the seven entered Ninja Ops, they were greeted by the very guinea pig they had come there to look fore. Cam was so relieved that he ran right up to his tiny father. "Dad!" he declared happily.

"Ah!" Sensei screamed. "Not the fur! You're choking me!"

Cam immediately set his father down. "Sorry," he apologized.

Sensei straightened his robe and matted his fur. "It's about time you lazy humans showed up," he complained. "I saw your escape from jail on the news, but I did _not_ see an attack on the city, so what were you doing?"

"Huh?" Dustin asked.

"It's not my father, is it?" Cam said, turning to Tobi.

"I guess they left their Sensei behind," Tobi concluded.

"What are you two babbling about?" Sensei asked in a grumpy tone.

Cam sighed. "I'll get to work on tracking down my _real_ father," he said, starting up the computer. "You guys can… keep this one busy."

"So, who is going to give me my daily sponge bath?" Sensei asked impatiently.

"He's joking, right?" Dustin whispered.

"No, he's not," Tobi replied.

The others grimaced.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a cat?" Sensei complained. "I can't clean myself."

"Blake, bro," Hunter said, leaning on the shorter brother's shoulder. "I think you should take one for the team."

"Why me?" Blake replied with horror filled eyes. "I wouldn't even give you a sponge bath."

"You know you would," Hunter disagreed. "But, maybe you can get Tori to help you."

Recognition dawned in Blake's eyes. "Oh," he realized. "Tor, would you mind helping me give Sensei a bath? We could… talk."

Tori understood immediately. "Sure, why not?" she agreed. "We definitely do need to talk."

"Great!" Blake grinned before realizing that maybe he didn't want to talk about what they were going to talk about after all.

"Shall we?" Tori asked, carefully picking up the grumpy Sensei.

"I only put up with you molesting me like this because I do not appreciate being dirty," Sensei told them as he was carried off.

"I think I know what they're gonna talk about," Shane commented. "Dustin told me about the whole other Tori not being a virgin part. Or, he tried anyway." A grin spread over his face.

"What?" Dustin asked him.

"Let me see, bro," Shane began, clearing his throat and then imitating a speed talking Dustin, "'Dude! You have to like check this out! The Tori that you think is Tori isn't Tori because the isn't Tori didn't bleed. Virgins bleed and the is Tori is a virgin of course, but not evil Tori. Evil Tori is like totally the opposite. But, did you hear me, dude? Virgins bleed! Girls bleed. I don't think guys bleed. I hope not! I don't want to bleed. That would so not be cool, dude. Maybe I should just never bottom… ever. What do you think, dude? Should I bottom?"

Dustin frowned while the others laughed hysterically. "I didn't say that," he protested.

"Maybe I exaggerated a little," Shane commented. "You might not have asked me advice on you being bottom, but you did go on and on about bleeding. I could tell what you were thinking. You were going to ask if you should have chose Tobi instead, since he's a total bottom."

Tobi wasn't sure how to take that and neither was Hunter. Dustin just looked flustered.

"Tobi," Cam called, saving everyone from an awkward moment.

Tobi quickly scampered over to Cam as he stared at the other Dustin's computer screen. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Does anyone else besides Dustin use this computer?" Cam asked.

Tobi gave him a puzzled look. "No, why?"

"I see," Cam said slowly. "You should know… there are several things that I have found on here that suggest the other Dustin… that he was attracted to you."

"What!" Tobi exclaimed. "Why wouldn't he have told me then?"

"That I don't know," Cam replied, "but there's more. That was just so you wouldn't feel overwhelmed by what's next."

"What?" Tobi asked anxiously.

"Do you remember telling me that Zords were outlawed in this dimension and that not even your dimension's Dustin would violate that because of… the dangers?" Cam asked.

"Yeah… why?" Tobi replied hesitantly.

Cam typed a few keys and Zord schematics appeared on the screen. "Wha… He was working on Zords?"

"Working on and apparently completed," Cam replied, the screen changing to show a camera view of… the Zord bay. Although some were obviously unfinished, the rest were complete and Tobi felt a shiver run up his spine. How could Dustin have kept something like this a secret? "After what you told me about their not being Zords here," Cam continued, "I was hoping that the other versions of us wouldn't notice that we had Zords. Now… I think they may use them against the city… and, with Lothor's help, worse."

"But Dustin was there when Dark Specter sacrificed himself to destroy the last of the Zords by finally defeating the evil Zordon," Tobi said, still in disbelief. "He was there when my mom died. I can't believe…" He trailed off.

"Once we find my father, returning to our dimension will be our top priority," Cam said while Tobi continued to look lost in thought. "We have to stop them before it's too late."

* * *

Blake and Tori returned from bathing Sensei. The guinea pig had a slightly less grumpy look on its face and its fur was extremely puffy. "Too much shampoo," Tori whispered to Tobi when she saw the look on his face.

"So… how did it go?" Tobi decided to ask.

"As expected," she replied, frowning. "He didn't know it was me and he was thinking of me the whole time because, well, she does look just like me."

"Good point," Tobi agreed before noticing something in Tori's eyes. "There's more, isn't there?" he asked.

"I think he liked her better," she explained. "After all, she took care of his 'man needs.'"

"Man needs?" Tobi repeated.

"That's what he called it," she replied. "I told him that he can have her the moment we get back to our dimension."

"You broke up with him!" Tobi exclaimed before quickly covering his mouth.

Tori's eyes darted around nervously. "Uh, I don't know," she admitted, looking down, "but, maybe…"

"I can't help but feel partially responsible," Tobi commented. "She is my sister, after all."

Tori looked up and smiled at him. "Tobi, if there's one thing I've learned about you, it's that you're nothing like your sister."

Tobi looked down, remembering how much he had loved his sister despite everything and how a lifelong relationship was shattered so easily.

"That's a compliment," Tori reminded him.

He looked up. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks."

"You still care about her, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "I guess that doesn't make any sense, does it?"

She smiled at him. "No, I understand. Believe me, I understand."

"Thanks, Tori," he replied.

"What are sister's for?" she asked with a grin.

He grinned back at her… his sister.

* * *

A short while later, Cam managed to track down his father. "He's in the park," Cam explained. "It looks like he's alright… for now." So, the group headed over to the park. Cam suggested that the grumpy Sensei shouldn't be left alone, so Tori offered to carry him along.

"What if some crazed animal wants to eat me?" the cranky guinea pig asked from inside a pouch that Tori had strapped around her shoulder.

"Don't animals also live in harmony with each other?" Tori asked, but Sensei just grunted.

"He should be just up ahead," Cam said, looking from a device in his hand to a crowd of humans, aliens and kelzacks.

"Look!" a female voice shouted. "It's her! The one who helped the mayor defeat those evil Power Rangers!"

The group turned to see Marah and Kapri prancing up to them. They were both dressed like hippy folk singers.

"Hello again…" Marah greeted Tori.

"We're not very good with names," Kapri chimed in.

"Oh," Tori said, making a slightly disgusted face at seeing the two again. "I'm Tori and this is… my brother, Tobi."

"A pleasure to meet you," Kapri said, extending her hand to Tobi. He decided to try to shake it, but she just dangled her arm limply, her attention already lost. "And who are these handsome gentlemen?" she asked, straightening her cotton candy pink hair.

"These are my friends," Tori said, introducing the group.

"They look familiar for some reason," Marah commented.

"Uh…" Tori mumbled.

"I'm Kapri Rainbowchaser," Kapri introduced herself.

"And I'm Marah Marigold Moonbeam," Marah added, giving the group a wide, toothy grin.

"Marah," Dustin whispered, a look in his eyes like he'd seen a ghost, because, when it came down it, he had.

"That's right!" Marah declared happily, jumping a little. "You were so right, Kapri. Cute guys can remember my name."

"See! See!" Kapri replied.

Dustin blushed and he and Marah stared at each other for a lot longer than what was necessary. Both Hunter and Tobi noticed this and exchanged nervous glances.

"Anyway," Tori distracted them. "We're actually looking for someone. Perhaps you can help us find him."

"We love helping people," Kapri replied. "It's like our second favorite thing, unicorns being our first."

"Yes, I remember," Tori said, trying not to roll her eyes.

"It's not the mayor again, is it?" Marah asked. "Because he's busy tracking down those evil Power Rangers."

"They escaped you know," Kapri joined in. "Isn't that awful?"

"Yes, terrible," she agreed.

"Really horrible," Tobi added.

"But maybe you've seen a small guinea pig wearing a sensei's robe?" Tori continued.

"Oh! I found him!" Kapri declared, pointing and… dancing? "What do I win?"

"Actually," Cam interrupted. "We're looking for another one, that just happens to look exactly the same as this one."

Marah looked at the frowning Sensei and happily replied. "You must mean the Wise Wanderer from Weird World!"

"The wise…" Tori began to ask before shaking her head. "If he looks like this," she said, gesturing down to the Sensei in her bag, "then it's probably him."

"I don't know," Kapri disagreed. "The other one doesn't frown all the time."

"Bite your tongue," the grumpy Sensei demanded. "I happen to be allergic to pollen and clearly the air is filled with the stuffl." His eyes darted around. "If I become ill… Ah!" he shrieked. "It's Flora Bundacus and she's sporing pollen everywhere… and in public!"

"Just lead the way," Cam said, putting his hand over his face in exhaustion.

"Follow us!" Marah and Kapri cooed in unison, leading them toward a group of aliens, humans and kelzacks, all kneeling around… a small guinea pig in a gray robe.

Tobi's first thought was, "Oh my god, they're worshiping him!" Of course, that would just be silly.

"And, as you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth," the guinea pig continued, "you will begin to feel one with the universe. Only then, in a deep state of meditation, will you truly find inner peace and discover your inner ninja." Sensei then opened his eyes and looked around. "That is all for now. You may go forth and practice it on your own."

As the crowd dispersed, the others approached their Sensei. "Dad?" Cam asked.

"Cameron?" Sensei said, surprised. "Rangers? I must say, I am pleased to see you, but I fear your arrival means you are trapped here as well."

"Pretty much," Cam said, sighing and picking up his father. "I'm glad to see you again… the real you."

"The real me?" his father asked.

"Ah!" the Sensei in Tori's bag cried. "It's that clone again! I thought you got rid of it." He glared at his doppelganger. "You will _not_ eat all my mini meals again!"

While the two Sensei's became familiarized, Tobi noticed that Dustin was talking to Marah and, as a flower petal flew into her long brown hair, he instinctively reached up and brushed it away. The moment he noticed his hand movement, though, he quickly gave her a nervous smile. He kept looking her in the eyes and then looking away quickly until she turned to leave with Kapri and she cheerfully waved goodbye to him.

"He never looks at me that way," Hunter commented.

Tobi looked over, startled. He hadn't even noticed he was there, he had been so caught up in watching Dustin. He decided to approach the former yellow ranger with the lovesick puppydog eyes. Hunter followed a pace behind him. "So… you and Marah seemed to be hitting it off…" Tobi suggested slowly.

"Huh? Oh," Dustin agreed, coming out of his daze. "Yeah, she's… nice. I mean, this Marah. She's got all the good stuff from the other Marah but not all the like evil stuff."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled.

"Dustin, do you…" Hunter began, but he seemed to find the rest of his question difficult to ask.

"He wants to know how you… feel about this Marah," Tobi suggested.

Dustin grinned and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "She's… nice."

"Yeah, you said that already," Hunter reminded him.

Dustin furrowed his brow, obviously thinking.

"Dustin," Tobi said slowly, "I think you should follow your heart."

Dustin looked at him quickly, his eyes widening.

Tobi forced a smile, but Dustin still looked confused. He then had to walk away.

Hunter ran over to Tobi. "Why'd you say that?" he asked.

"If you love him, you'll want him to be happy," Tobi replied without meeting Hunter's eyes.

Hunter was silent for a moment. "I guess I just want him to be happy… with me," he finally said.

"I know," Tobi mumbled, "but what if we end up being stuck here? What if he decides he wants to be with her. Maybe he wants kids. That's something neither of us can offer him. Maybe there's some parallel dimension out there where Dustin can get pregnant, but not this one. And… maybe he'd be more comfortable with a girl… He always says he wants to not feel so… weird."

Hunter was silent again. "I do want him to be happy," he agreed. "And, if… she makes him happy, I'll support his decision." He turned to Tobi. "Just like you supported his decision when he said he chose me."

"Right," Tobi said, gulping. He needed to excuse himself fast.

Fortunately, Hunter noticed that Tori had an unusually grim expression on her face. "What's wrong, Tor?" he asked.

"Huh?" she mumbled, handing Cam the bag from around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I was just a little spacey."

"It's my brother, isn't it?" Hunter asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Yeah," she agreed, subconsciously brushing her hair aside. "We sort of… broke up."

"I see," Hunter said.

"It's not official or anything, but… it may as well be," she continued. "He likes the other me better and… I want him to be happy."

"So, you love him then?" Hunter asked.

"What?" she replied, confused. "Did I say that?"

"No," Hunter admitted, "but if you love somebody, you'll want them to be happy no matter what. Even if it hurts you."

She eyed him suspiciously. "And you know this because…?"

Hunter sighed. "I think Dustin's falling for this dimension's Marah just like he did the other one. Only… this time, I think she might be… right for him."

Tori raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I guess I never saw that coming."

"Yeah, me neither," Hunter agreed.

"Do you think Dustin loves… or… cares for this Marah?" she asked. "They only just met."

"I don't think even Dustin knows yet," Hunter replied, "but I saw the look in his eyes."

"What look is that?" Tori asked.

"A look I've seen before," he continued, "…in your eyes."

She promptly looked down, embarrassed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Pretty much," he agreed, smiling. "Look, Tor, if Blake's good at anything besides motocross, it's putting his foot in his mouth. Usually, both feet. I'm sure he said things he didn't mean. Just… give him another chance, okay?"

"Trying to keep your brother happy?" she suggested.

Hunter caught on to her accusation. "I do love my brother a lot and so I want him to be happy, but… I also want you to be happy."

"Me?" Tori asked, surprised. "Because you…?"

"Because I… I'm your friend," he replied, "And I've seen that look you get when you're around him. He makes you happy."

"He also frustrates me like crazy," she added.

He chucked. "That's Blake alright," he agreed. "But sometimes it's the ones we care about the most who have the most power to hurt us."

Tori grinned. "You sounded like Tobi for a moment there," she said.

"Yeah, he's not so bad," Hunter admitted, smiling over toward Tobi, who was holding his face over the park's fountain in an attempt to hide his tears.

Tori glanced at Tobi and then back to Hunter. "I'll give your brother one more chance, but… for you, not for him."

"For me?" he asked, surprised.

"Because I… want you to be happy," she added.

"Ah, right," Hunter replied, grinning nervously.

"Because you're such a good friend and all," she clarified.

"Of course," Hunter agreed quickly. He looked at her eyes and saw something familiar in them… a look he'd seen before, but when she looked at his brother. "You're a good friend too, Tor," he said.

Tori bit her bottom lip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my brother needs me."

"Your brother?" Hunter asked.

"That's right," she replied, "my brother." She gave him a wink that left him extremely confused before walking over to Tobi.

Tobi saw her coming and quickly tried to compose himself.

"You don't have to try to hide it," she told him. "And I know what's wrong. Hunter told me about Dustin and Marah."

"Oh," Tobi replied dumbly.

"He also talked about wanting someone you love to be happy no matter what," she continued. "I wonder where he got that from?"

"Hey, I got it from Cam," he admitted.

"Cam? Really?" she replied, surprised.

"He's really a much more sensitive person than people think," he said.

"Actually, he's always come across as… sensitive," she pointed out.

He just shrugged.

She decided to put an arm around his shoulder. "Everything will work out," she told him. "Isn't that what you told me?"

"But I'm the reason we're stuck here," he said. "Maybe I'm the reason Dustin will be happy," he added, trying to force a smile.

"It's not your fault we're here," she told him.

"I created a shock wave that caused the dimensional hole to break down," he reminded her.

"And that was _amazing_," she replied. "If Lothor hadn't shown up when he did, I'm sure that, with your help, we could have turned the tables on the other Power Rangers."

"You think so?" he asked.

"I know so," she assured him. "I still don't know what you did or how you did it, but, now that we've found Sensei, maybe he can help you lean to control it. If we ever get back, I think we'll need one more ninja. Especially if we face your sister again. " She made a mildly disgusted face. "It's so hard to believe that the same dimension that brought us you also brought us… her. And, your twin no less."

Tobi's expression suddenly changed.

"What is it?" Tori asked quickly.

"I just remembered something my sister said before she threw me over here," he replied. "She said she wanted me to be happy. She really does still love me."

"But she…" Tori began.

"I know what she did," Tobi said. "I'm just saying I don't think she's all evil. I think… there's some good in her. And… I want the chance to find it." He brushed away the remaining tears from his face. "I'm going to help try to get you guys—to get us—back to the other dimension."

"Thanks, Tobi," she replied, hugging him, "but we might not be able to get back."

He looked at her with an earnestness in his eyes. "If we don't' get back, I'll be okay with that. I'll still have my sister." He gestured toward her and smiled. "But if you guys don't like it here and you can't call it home, it won't be my home any longer either."

"Tobi, you…" she began.

"You're my friends," he told her. "And… I think I have an idea how we can get back."

"You do?" she asked, surprised.

"I'll need to discuss it with Cam," he said. "And… I'll need to figure out if it's what everyone wants." He looked over toward Dustin, who was now talking to Shane. He knew he'd do anything for Dustin, but he also knew that, if the others wanted to go back, he had to help them get there. He just wished he knew what would truly make _everyone_ happy.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

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**ATTENTION: I've created a new poll that asks **_**What previous generation Power Ranger(s) should appear in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?**_** At the top left of this page, click on Rogue Ranger. My profile will load. At the top center of that page is the poll. As always, your opinions count!**


	20. Faith in Fate

**ATTENTION: I am very serious considering adding past generation Power Rangers to either Tobi's dimension or to the others' dimension. I've created a new poll that asks **_**What previous generation Power Ranger(s) should appear in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?**_** At the top left of this page, click on _Rogue Ranger_. My profile will load. At the top center of that page is the poll. Please vote if you have not done so! If you have, thank you!**

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_**Author's Notes** (forgive me for typing too long an "author's notes" section, if you don't care you can skip to the story): This chapter is more of an explanationary, in-between chapter. More stuff will happen soon._

**Thank you to all my readers, whether you review or not!**

Thanks **Philadelphiacheese** for voting and reviewing! I… uh… never thought of my story as fluffy, but… okay! Anyway, I'm glad you like the story so far despite the occasional perversity. No perversity in this chapter, but I'm not sure how to take your comment that the story is "a pretty good time killer." :p I looked at your story favorites, though, and… wow! You read stories with like 20 to 100+ chapters. I don't expect a million words out of this story, though… Not that it's about to end yet!

Thanks **Ghostwriter** for your regular reviews and for keeping me updated on all the slang that apparently I've missed over the years! I've noticed that you really get around. By that, I mean that I see your reviews all over the place. I could never read and write that many stories. Then again, maybe I am limiting myself. Hmmm… Anyway, catch you on the flip side, which would be a parallel version of this reality, possibly where I'm evil and write about evil things like Sensei and Lothor getting it on with each other. Hmmm… now there's an idea…

You're welcome, **YellowPrincess**! I'm not sure if that will be the last Hunter and Tori "moment" but I was noticing that Hunter is the first person to congratulate Tori after they graduate from the Wind Ninja Academy in the last episode. If nothing else, they were friends. That much is obvious in the series. Of course, in order to make such a moment possible, I had to have not just Blake get some "action" from the other Tori but Dustin to show an interest in Marah. In the series, it's obvious that the two do care about each other and in Tobi's dimension, Marah's nice, so… We'll see what happens. First, though, I have to deal with Tobi's powers a little, since that will come into play later.

Thanks **Magichalo** for reviewing and voting in the poll! Sorry for writing too quickly! Don't worry, I won't make a habit out of it. Unless of course it's a short chapter. Glad you appreciate chapter 18's epic action sequence. I want to do some more action, but I also want to incorporate additional characters. Hence, the poll. I was actually thinking about introducing the Time Force rangers as a way to alter history, but then I was thinking would introducing time travel make things too complicated? It's not like PRTF needs to alter history, I just thought it would be interesting. As for limiting the number of past rangers to five in the poll, I was originally going to just have one, but then I thought, nah, I want people to be able to choose runners up. Of course, if I were really thinking about teams, most have 6, so… maybe I should change that.

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**The Power Rangers and Tobi find themselves trapped in Tobi's dimension with their evil counterparts back in theirs. Dustin's yellow Power Ranger abilities were permanently sacrificed to seal the dimensional hole and he won't have them in their new dimension. Meanwhile, their attempt to find Sensei leads them to discover that the other Power Rangers left their Sensei behind. Now with two Senseis, one grumpy and one calm, the rangers find themselves wondering if they'll ever get back. Dustin meets the nice version of Marah and seems to fall for her. When Hunter tries to convince Tori to give Blake another chance after he tells her he liked the evil Tori better because of his "man needs," the two share a moment. Then, she comforts Tobi, who wants a chance to find some good in his evil twin sister and has an idea that just might get them all back...**_

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******Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 20 (Faith in Fate)**

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After returning to Ninja Ops from the park with both Senseis, the group took a moment to talk about the new world they found themselves in. Tobi, however, took the opportunity to ask Cam about an idea he had. "Cam, do you remember that big moth called Gold something?" he asked while Cam plopped himself back down in the chair in front of the computer.

"Goldwinger?" he suggested.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "He's the one who sent Tori here before and pieces of him made that hole, so…"

"So, if we find this dimension's Goldwinger, it may be able to send us back," Cam realized, his eyes widening.

"Exactly," Tobi replied.

"What was that about something sending us back?" Tori asked, approaching.

"Goldwinger may have the power to return us to our dimension," Cam explained. "And there would be no risk to the dimensions, just like when it created the stabile interdimensional vortex that you originally passed through."

"I get the part about us going back to our dimension," Dustin said, leaning on Tori's shoulder, "but what was the rest, dude?"

"Moth guy sent Tori here before, so he can send us back now," Shane simplified.

"I get it now!" Dustin declared happily.

Cam immediately started typing away. "I don't' know if I'll be able to track him down though, assuming he exists in this dimension."

"We could try it the old fashioned way and ask around Town," Tori suggested.

Cam raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Someone's the new genius around here!" Shane said, offering her a high five.

"I was always smart," she reminded him, ignoring his hand.

"So, I guess we all go like ask people where's moth dude," Dustin suggested.

Cam groaned. "Goldwinger," he reminded them. "And, can we all remember what it looks like?"

"He's big and ugly," Dustin offered.

"That totally narrows it down, dude," Shane said sarcastically.

"What about you two?" Tori asked, turning to Hunter and Blake with raised eyebrows.

The two brothers suddenly stopped their intense, whispered conversation and smiled toward her. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"I recommend that we go in pairs, ask around, and then meet back here in two hours," Cam said.

"Hold up," Dustin interrupted. "When do we eat?"

"You always think about your stomach, Dustin," Tori said with a grin.

"I'm hungry too," Shane added. "Maybe we should eat first."

"I'll go for that," Hunter agreed, approaching with Blake. "And I think I know who you should pair up with, Tor," He gestured toward his brother.

"Sure," Tori agreed, blinking way more than necessary at Hunter.

Dustin happened to notice this and jabbed Shane, whispering, "See, she's using her telepathy again, dude. Now do you believe me?"

Cam turned to his father. "Dad, do you want to come with us or do you want us to bring something back for you?"

"Thank you for the offer, Cam," Sensei replied, "but I will be fine."

"You are _not_ eating my mini meals, clone!" the other Sensei spoke up.

"Will you be okay alone with _him_?" Cam whispered to his father.

Before Sensei could answer, Tobi chimed in. "I'll stay here with them," he offered.

"Are you sure?" Cam asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "I have something I want to ask Sensei."

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"We will be fine," Sensei told his son. "Enjoy your lunch."

Cam nodded before informing the others that it was time to leave.

Tori walked over to Tobi. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I just want to talk to Sensei."

"Tobi's turning down food?" Hunter asked in surprise. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"That'll never happen with Dustin," Blake pointed out.

"I am an eating machine!" Dustin bragged, putting is hands on his hips.

"I hope we can find Goldwinger easily," Cam said with a concerned expression. "I hate to think what the other versions of us are doing right now."

"Man, don't remind me," Shane replied, shaking his head.

"Catch you later, TZT," Dustin yelled. "I'll bring you back like leftovers or something."

Tori grinned. "Don't count on that," she said, patting Tobi on the arm before leaving with the others. "Call us if you need something."

"So, this is like the fifth dimension…" Dustin commented as they left Ninja Ops.

Tobi sighed, turning back to the two Senseis. "Sensei," he addressed.

"What!" one replied grumpily.

"What can I do for you, Tobi?" the other asked calmly.

Tobi frowned. "We need a way to tell the two of you apart." He thought for a moment, looking around Ninja Ops for inspiration.

"We can call _him_ clone," the grumpy Sensei suggested.

"Perhaps Sensei Watanabe," the calm Sensei offered.

"I'm Sensei Kanoi Watanabe!" the other demanded, grabbing a miniature walking stick and aiming it like a sword. The calm Sensei simply backflipped away from him as the grumpy guinea pig tried slashing—or poking—away.

"Break it up," Tobi warned, putting his hands between the two guinea pigs. "Ow!" He was immediately zapped with a small fireball from the grumpy Sensei. He concentrated on his hands and noticed that they started to glow. Surprised and not wanting to destroy Ninja Ops, he quickly shook his hands and removed them, but the moment he did, a bright flash knocked both Senseis over. Their tiny feet wiggled in the air.

"I'm blind! I'm blind!" the grumpy Sensei cried.

"Your eyes are closed," Tobi pointed out, "and I'm sorry, but you started it."

"I was not aware that you had such an ability, Tobi," the calm Sensei said in surprise, rocking his body back and forth until he was finally able to stand on his two short limbs.

"Actually, that's the second time I've done something like that, but the first time was a whole lot more… intense," Tobi explained.

"It seems I may have been wrong in assuming your ability tended toward water like your sister," Sensei replied, thinking. "That may only have been a side effect of bonding with her morpher."

"Then what is my… ability?" Tobi asked.

Sensei thought. "Something I have not seen in a long time…"

"Will you be able to train me to control it?" Tobi asked.

"I do not know," Sensei replied. "I only truly know air, earth and water. I, myself, originally trained as an Air Ninja."

The other Sensei scoffed. "Training," he muttered dismissively.

Tobi turned to his sister and her friends' former Sensei. "_Now_ do you think iI could have become a ninja?"

Grumpy Sensei crossed his little arms. "I stand by my decision."

"And what decision was that?" calm Sensei asked.

The other Sensei turned his back, refusing to talk to his doppelganger.

"Sensei—this Sensei—found us after the last Zord attack and began training Tori, Dustin and Shane to be ninjas," Tobi explained, "but he refused to train me. He said I was too weak and lacked the right spirit or something like that."

"Perhaps he simply saw that you could not so easily be turned to evil," the calm and wise Sensei theorized.

"Evil?" cranky Sensei repeated. "You were never meant to be a Wind Ninja or a Power Ranger."

"How do you know that?" Tobi asked.

"It was foretold that three would be chosen…" grumpy Sensei continued.

Tobi gave him a surprised look.

"I wonder…" calm Sensei mumbled, jumping across the room to a bookshelf full of scrolls.

"You stay away from my scrolls!" grumpy Sensei demanded, hopping after him.

Tobi quickly followed, trying to keep track of which Sensei was which. "Sensei?" he started, glancing between the two. "Oh, Sensei without a staff," he clarified, "what are you doing?"

The grumpy Sensei used his stick to knock the hat off the other guinea pig. "Sensei with no staff and no hat!" he declared, satisfied.

Tobi just raised an eyebrow toward him while the now hatless Sensei calmly retrieved a scroll and began using his body to unroll it. "What's that?" Tobi asked.

"It's proof you were never meant to be a ninja," the grumpy hat wearing Sensei replied.

"Interesting," the calm hatless Sensei muttered.

As Tobi looked down at the clearly very old scroll, he gasped in surprise. On it were drawings of Tori, Shane and Dustin. "That's an _ancient_ scroll? And it shows my sister and Shane and Dustin?" Tobi asked.

"Yes," calm Sensei replied, closing the scroll, which the other Sensei promptly took from him and returned to its place. "An identical scroll exists in the other dimension."

"So, all that stuff about the three being at the bottom of their class and only become Power Rangers because they were the last three…" Tobi began.

"Was partially true," Sensei continued. "But they were also destined to follow the path that seemingly randomly fell before them."

"Destiny, huh?" Tobi mumbled. "So that's why I couldn't train as a ninja? I wasn't _destined_ on some ancient scroll," he realized, "not even in my own dimension. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be born here either."

"Finally, you take a hint," cranky Sensei commented, hopping over to check on his mini meals.

"It is my belief that you do hold a destiny here," calm Sensei added as Tobi watched the other Sensei go. "Cameron was not in that scroll either. And, while Hunter and Blake did appear in a scroll located at the Thunder Ninja Academy, your own destiny may very well be equally profound."

Tobi contemplated that, his eyes becoming lost in thought.

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" Sensei asked.

Tobi shook off his thoughts. "Oh, no, it was…" he began. "I wanted to know why someone turns evil. I mean… say they started out okay, but… they changed over time?"

Sensei thought for a moment. "I know you are thinking of your twin sister," he concluded, earning him a surprised look from Tobi. "My own twin brother was not born evil, but he became corrupted by jealousy and a lust for power. Over time, his destiny took shape and Kiya became… Lothor."

"And yet, in this dimension, Lothor never became evil," Tobi pointed out. "Is it 'destiny' or just things that happened differently in people's pasts? Like, the Zord attack…"

"Each dimension has its own set of destinies and its own fate," Sensei concluded, "but there is one underlying truth in any dimension. Those who spread misery are miserable people themselves."

Tobi thought about that. "So… if you make them happy, they won't be evil anymore?"

"There are many different ways to 'make someone happy.'" Sensei pointed out. "For instance, one can lie to someone to make them happy. One can give a gift and make them happy. Or… one can change another's life from the inside out so that happiness is not something outside oneself but contentment with one's inner being."

"And how do you do that?" Tobi asked, confused.

"One does not become evil in an instant outside a spell or something similar," Sensei explained, "And likewise one does not turn from evil in an instant outside a spell or something similar. Either. It is a process, a process centered around the individual learning to be at peace with themselves." Tobi didn't need to ask "how" because Sensei could see it in his eyes. "Show the person not just that you care about them but _why_ you care."

Tobi thought for a moment. He really didn't feel any closer to an answer than he was before. He knew that if he asked if his sister could become good that Sensei would just say something like, "If it is her path in life."

"So, are you ever going to show them the scroll?" Tobi decided to ask.

"Once Shane, Tori and Dustin have fulfilled their destiny," Sensei replied.

"Which is…?" Tobi prompted.

"To defeat my brother and save the Earth," Sensei explained.

"So, there's no hope for Lothor turning good?" Tobi asked.

Sensei turned away for a moment. "That is not in his destiny," he replied somberly.

"Oh…" Tobi said, looking over at the other Sensei hording his mini meals and glancing around protectively. "But, what about _this_ Sensei and Lothor?"

Sensei turned back around to face Tobi. "I do not know," he replied, a sense of loss still in his voice.

"Sensei," Tobi whispered. "You can't give up on your own brother just because a piece of paper says he's beyond hope."

Sensei smiled up toward him weakly. "Let me tell you a story…" he said.

Tobi gave him a confused look before agreeing, "Okay…" he looked for a place to sit and decided on the top of a nearby counter.

"There was once a man who had a dream that he was on a boat fishing when another boat hit his own," Sensei began. "In the dream, the man hurt his hand in the collision because he was holding too tightly onto his oars. The next day, the man went fishing and a boat was about to collide with his own. Remembering his dream, the man let go of both oars."

"And he drown?" Tobi suggested, predicting a depressing ending to the story.

"No," Sensei replied. "Before the other boat collided with his own, it hit his loose oar and knocked it in such a way that it smashed the man's hand."

Tobi grimaced. He knew it would be something like that.

"So," Sensei finished, "though the man witnessed his fate and even tried working out a way to prevent it, he still ended up injuring his hand, just as he had foreseen in his dream."

"So… the moral is, there's one path meant for your life and there's no way to change your destiny?" Tobi asked grimly.

"There are in fact many paths, as the man discovered, but they all lead to one ultimate fate," Sensei explained.

Although Tobi knew this Sensei was supposed to be wise and he had learned to trust him for advice, he couldn't help but think Sensei was wrong about "fate." Of course, it wasn't just Sensei. Hunter believed he was destined for Dustin and Dustin probably wondered if, after meeting two versions of her, Marah was destined for him. Then there were the scrolls… but Tobi still wanted to believe that somehow he could shape his own fate. It wasn't some way to come between Dustin and Hunter or Dustin and Marah. It was a way to save his sister, and possibly everyone, from the path they were on. He had to prove, more to himself than to anyone else, that he could change their destiny. Maybe then, in the process, he'd find his own destiny…

* * *

Tobi managed to convince the far more patient Sensei to train him how to control his ability, though Sensei had been adamant about warning him that it did not seem to be an element he was familiar with.

"And then focus on pushing the energy down your arm and into your palm." Sensei continued to teach.

Tobi had only been able to create bursts of energy so far. He was trying to control the energy once it left his body, but he seemed to need a physical substance like his tears or other bodily fluids. So, Sensei was having him hold a metal bolt and try to focus his energy into the bolt. Of course, the energy didn't travel into the bolt, but just exploded out from his palm, causing the metal bolt to fly up into the air before falling to the floor with a clunk.

Tobi sighed in frustration. "I can't cry or jack off every time I want to have something I can control outside my body," he said, "but I can't figure out how to push the energy into something outside of me."

"Perhaps we are approaching this the wrong way," Sensei suggested. "What was it that Cam said you did to the air around you?"

"He said I separated out the hydrogen or something like that," Tobi replied. "Maybe I do something like that with water?"

"I want you to try focusing not on pushing your energy into something," Sensei began again, "but to find the energy within something."

Tobi gave him a confused look. "And how do I do that?"

"You told me that you sensed something intangible in the air around you that you could control," Sensei replied.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed.

"Here," Sensei offered, leading Tobi to a dying bonsai plant. "I believe you may have better luck with something living."

Tobi just shrugged and turned to focus on the wilting plant next to Sensei. He kept focusing until he found something within it and focused just on that. It seemed to spread out in his mind until he saw the plant on fire. He gasped. "I'm sorry, Sensei," he said quickly.

"For what?" Sensei asked, looking at the bonsai, which was now green and full of life.

"But, but… it was on fire," he stuttered, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"When?" Sensei asked. "I was watching it the whole time. It simply healed itself. It was quite remarkable."

"So… it didn't catch on fire?" he asked again, now feeling a sense of fatigue.

"No," Sensei replied, "but perhaps you perceived something burning within it, its life force that you were able to ignite?"

"Uh, I guess," Tobi agreed. "Why do I feel... weaker?"

"Weaker?" Sensei repeated.

"Yeah, a little," he replied. "I didn't feel this way after I created that huge explosion back in the other dimension."

Sensei thought for a moment. "It may be a different skill that is used," he theorized. "Perhaps, with practice, it may become easier."

"I guess so," Tobi offered.

"It is interesting how you seem to have a level of control over the three main elements: air, water and earth," Sensei pondered. "What connects them together?" He furrowed his fuzzy brow in contemplation. "They are all forms of solid substances, of matter."

"Stupid clone," the other Sensei muttered from across the room. "It's light!"

"But light is not an element," the Sensei in front of Tobi pointed out.

The other Sensei just grunted.

"It is possible," the calm Sensei conceded. "The intangible element may not be an element at all, not a solid, liquid or gas, but part of the energy within each of those."

Tobi gave him a confused look.

"When energy is released from matter, it emits light," Sensei explained, "so to be able to control light is to be able to draw the energy out of anything. No doubt the same ability you showed to regenerate the bonsai is what you used to free Tori from Mindzine."

"I know I'm not Cam, but doesn't converting matter into energy mean splitting an atom, like in an atomic bomb?" Tobi asked grimly.

"Cam would know details like that," Sensei replied, "but I believe you will be able to control and harness the ability and learn to use it safely. After all, fire is the process of converting matter into energy."

"I'm blaming you if he blows us all to kingdom come!" the other Sensei shouted.

Tobi didn't know whether to feel amazed or terrified by the power he supposedly possessed, but his thoughts were interrupted by Tori's voice coming from his communicator. "Tobi?" she called.

"I'm here," he said, raising his wrist. "I've just been training with Sensei. So, did you guys find Goldwinger?"

"Not yet," she replied hesitantly, "but Cam… went off to find his mom."

"Oh…" Tobi realized, looking at Sensei, who gave him a surprised look. "Yeah, I told him his mom was alive here when he told me she died in your dimension." He offered Sensei an apologetic look.

"And…" Tori said, trailing off.

"Tori, what's wrong?" Tobi asked, suddenly worried.

"Everything's fine," she said quickly. "It's just that Blake and Hunter… their parents are alive here."

"Yeah, I know," Tobi reminded her.

"But… not everyone's alive here," she said slowly.

It took a moment for him to figure out what she was talking about. "Oh… our mom…"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "And Shane's brother, Porter… he's dead too," she added somberly.

"Yeah, he died saving Shane's life when his house was stomped on during the last Zord attack," Tobi explained.

There was silence from the other end for a moment.

"Tori, are you okay?" he repeated.

He heard her sigh. "Tobi… I think the others might want to stay…"

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"How did you feel when you saw your mom alive?" she asked him.

"She didn't even know me…" he replied. "I actually felt worse."

"Oh," she mumbled. "But you could have still spent time with her and built new memories."

He looked at the communicator, surprised. "My sister, the other Tori, said the same thing…"

She sighed again. "I just don't now how I'm going to convince Cam, Hunter and Blake that they should give that up to go back to a dimension filled with nothing but constant fighting to keep the Earth out of Lothor's grasp."

He looked at Sensei and realized their conversation was probably not something he was supposed to hear, so he stood up and walked to the next room. "I see your point," he agreed.

"And then there's Dustin," she continued.

Tobi's eyes lit up. "What about Dustin?" he asked quickly.

"Some alien lit him borrow its saxophone so that he could perform some… unusual music with Marah and Kapri," she explained.

"So, he and Marah…" Tobi said.

"It looks like it," she replied.

"So, is anyone even looking for Goldwinger?" he asked.

"Shane and I were, but…" she said, trailing off.

"Keep looking and asking around," he encouraged. "I have it on good authority that you guys aren't _destined_ to stay here."

"Huh?" she asked.

"Tell you what," he offered. "I'll join you and we can look together. Where are you?"

"We're outside some all you can eat fast food place called 'Pudgy Pig's Pig Out,'" she replied, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Eh," he grunted. "I should have warned you about the alien food."

"Yeah, you should have," she agreed, "but it's too late now. At lest it came back up fast and now we're fine."

"Sorry about that," he replied. "I'll be right there in a few minutes." He then returned to the main room and addressed the two Senseis. "Anyone up for a walk…?"

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_**To be continued...**_

_**Author's Note:** I hope I explained how light works. I'm not a scientist (but neither is Sensei, so there!)..._


	21. Dustin's Destiny

**IMPORTANT: This is your last chance to vote in the "_What previous generation Power Ranger(s) should appear in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?_" poll at the top of my profile page (click on _Rogue Ranger_ to the left and my profile loads). Once I complete the next chapter, I am going to have a new poll up!

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**Author's Notes:**_ I don't usually do this, but I went back and added something to the previous chapter. I did it within 24 hours of posting, but if you read Chapter 20 before that, here's what I changed: **1. When Tobi heals the bonsai, he is weakened by the process. 2. There is some doubt about light being Tobi's element.** See the review comments for why I did this._

_Anyway, he drama is back! That's right, it's once again time to explore the characters' emotional motivations and growth/changes. If that's not to your tastes, this might not be the chapter for you, but I've found that drama is a great way to build up emotions before an action scene and therefore intensify it. After all, if someone you don't understand or really care about is in danger, it's just not the same, right? And now, review comments:_

_Thanks _**Magichalo**_ for helping out my inner scientists! You will notice that Cam uses some of your comments (because he's the closest to a scientist I can get). Also, I did like the idea of light, but then the idea of fire could work. Even if I decide otherwise, his sister being water creates a separation between the twins and can tie into Sensei's conflict with his twin brother Lothor. However, as a result, I decided to add some doubt about the element to the previous chapter as I listed above. Also, I decided that healing something should weaken him, so that I can do something with that later on… And, as for romance and that kind of stuff, I deal with a little of that in this chapter, but I'm still trying to tie up everyone's emotional motivations._

_Thanks _**Ghostwriter**_ for reviewing all my chapters with expressions! This one I know though! "I'm lovin' it" is from McDonalds. See, I'm catching on! Anyway, glad you liked the chapter. More to come (obviously). Catch you on the directionally transposed side!_

_Thank you _**YellowPrincess**_ for your appreciation for Tobi (who also thanks you of course!)! There is some more set destiny vs. choose your own destiny debated in this chapter, since it wasn't really resolved before. And, I really want to say something about how powerful or not Tobi will become, but I feel like I might spoil things if I do… Awww… Anyway, I don't think you're crazy for liking grumpy Sensei because I like him too! He gets to say the things no one else would dare! But I like to have characters grow and change, so don't be surprised if… Well, I can't say more because then I'd spoil it! And, sadly, no Tori/Hunter moments in this one as I had Hunter and Blake still off looking for their parents in this chapter, but I will add something in the future just for you!_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi suggests that Goldwinger, the alien who originally sent Tori to Tobi's dimension, might be able to send the rangers back to their dimension, so they head out to look for the alien while Tobi stays behind to ask Sensei about making his sister no longer evil. Tobi discovers that an ancient scroll shows Shane, Tori and Dustin defeating Sensei's brother, Lothor. Because of this scroll, Sensei is convinced that his twin brother is beyond hope and that there is a destiny and fate that can not be changed no matter what. Later, Sensei trains Tobi to control his power and discovers his power to be over light, not an element but something released when matter is converted to energy. This ability might make him either very powerful or very dangerous. Then Tori calls to say that Cam went off to find his mother who is alive in Tobi's dimension, Hunter and Blake went off to find their also living parents, but that her mother is dead and Shane's brother is dead. Yet, with Dustin falling for Marah, it looks like the others might want to stay in Tobi's dimension. Tobi assures her that their "destiny" lies in the other dimension and offers to join their search for Goldwinger. He brings the two Senseis along...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 21 (Dustin's Destiny)

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Tobi walked down the street toward "Pudgy Pig's Pig Out" with a Sensei on each shoulder. They gripped his long hair with their tiny hands for support as he approached a table outside the restaurant and greeted Tori and Shane.

Tori was grinning when she saw him and he felt a sense of relief that she wasn't as down as she had sounded only moments before over the communicator. "That's an… interesting look, Tobi," she commented.

"Oh," Tobi realized. "Well, I couldn't find a bag and it seems to work."

"They look kinda like big fuzzy earrings," Shane added, glancing between the two guinea pigs. "How do you tell which one's which?"

"Well, aside from one missing a hat, just ask them a question," Tobi suggested.

Shane have him a confused look, but decided to go ahead. "Which one of you is Sensei Watanabe?" he asked.

"We both are," one said calmly.

"I'm Sensei Kanoi Watanabe!" the other replied hotly. "The other one's a clone! And a stupid clone at that! Gah!"

"I see what you mean," Tori said, wide eyed.

"I hope that one doesn't pull your hair out," Shane added.

"Then I would fall on the ground and be stepped on!" the grumpy Sensei replied. "I am no fool!"

"Of course not," Tori said diplomatically, forcing a smile.

Tobi looked around at the humans, kelzacks and aliens walking around town. "So, the others are still… doing their thing?" he asked. "I was actually hoping to talk to Cam. I had something to ask him."

"I too would like to speak to Cam and… perhaps his mother," Sensei agreed.

Shane raised his morpher. "Dustin, Blake, Hunter, we're going over to Cam's mom's house, which is…" He looked at Tori.

"1653 Stornbrook Avenue," she explained, loud enough to be heard over Shan's morpher. "It's near the Blue Bay Harbor Shopping Plaza."

"Meet us there when you're… done," Shane finished.

"Will do," Hunter's voice replied first.

"Sure, dude," Dustin's voice agreed, "but you guys should come back us out at the park. We're totally rocking." Music could be heard in the background while he talked.

Tobi looked between Shane and Tori. "Maybe we can make a short stop at the park," he suggested.

Tori grinned. "Somehow I knew you'd say that."

Was he really being that predictable? He just felt the need to… check on Dustin.

One of the Senseis made a gagging noise. "Tobi is as queer as a three dollar bill," he said with disgust. "There is an ancient saying that I think applies to you," he added, pulling Tobi's hair to turn his head.

"What's that?" Tobi asked, frowning.

"Dustin likes girls!" he shouted in Tobi's ear.

"Can't argue with ancient wisdom like that," Shane suggested, grinning.

Tobi just made a face and began to head toward the park.

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The five arrived at the park in time to witness the end of a performance featuring Dustin playing a saxophone, Marah and Kapri banging on tambourines, an alien with trumpets on its body that were blowing, a fish-like alien gurgling, a DJ-like alien spinning a disk on its head and several kelzacks dancing.

"It's… interesting," Tobi offered, trying to focus just on Dustin's playing. "Dustin sounds pretty good."

Shane was making faces. "I think my ear drums are going to rupture," he said, covering his ears dramatically.

"They're not… _that_ bad," Tori replied, putting a hand on his raised arm. "Close though," she agreed.

"Make the torture stop!" one Sensei complained while the other commented, "I find the tempo and melody both complex and soothing."

Once the "performance" was over and the crowd of humans and aliens began to disperse, Dustin spotted them and came running over. "Did you guys hear that?" he asked excitedly. "Were we awesome or what?"

"Uh… sure," Tori agreed.

"You play the sax really well," Tobi offered. "I don't know about he rest though," he admitted.

"You need to go solo, bro," Shane suggested.

"So, how did we do?" Marah asked, approaching with Kapri.

"You were awesome!" Dustin quickly told them both though he was obviously eying Marah specifically. "You were like… bam! And I was like woo! And then I'd be like waa! And you'd be shake! Shake!"

"Total harmony," Tori lied for the sake of her friend. Tobi glanced at her, remembering what Sensei had said. She lied to Dustin to keep him happy because the truth would hurt, but didn't Dustin deserve the truth? But didn't he deserve to be happy? Then again, what if he was happy here, but "destiny" said he couldn't stay?

"For our next performance, we're going to sing," Marah declared happily. She and Kapri then began singing… for practice?

"Oh, look at the time," Shane said, looking at his morpher as if it were a watch.

"Yeah, we need to meet up with a friend of ours," Tori quickly added.

"Dustin, do you—" Tobi started to ask just as a small fireball hit Kapri in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"Someone had to shut them up," the grumpy Sensei commented from Tobi's shoulder as Marah rushed down to see if Kapri was okay. Kapri raised her head, her face covered in ash and opened her mouth. A cloud of smoke came out.

"Dude, why'd you do that?" Dustin asked, suddenly upset. He bent down to check on the girls.

"At least it wasn't Marah," Tobi whispered to Shane and Tori. "Hey, Dustin," he called out. "We're going to go check on Cam. Do you want to come?"

Dustin helped Marah lift Kapri to her feet. "We were gonna practice and perform and stuff," he explained. "Hey!" he said, suddenly changing his tone. "You guys can perform with us! Shane, you can sing and Tori, you can like dance."

"Uh, that's okay," Tori replied, embarrassed. "We were actually going over to see Cam and his… mom."

"I thought Cam's mom was…" Dustin began before realization dawned and his eyes widened into big chocolate candies. "She's alive here in the Twilight Zone!" he clapped his hands against his face and grinned widely. "What about Hunter and Blake's parents?"

"They're alive, but—" Tori began before an overly excited Dustin interrupted her.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "Marah was saying how she's like into astronomy and stuff."

"Astrology," Marah corrected, smiling brightly at him.

He gave her an overly mushy smile. "Right!" he agreed. "And that like the universe has stuff and we're supposed to do it, you know, like destiny!"

"Destiny?" Tori repeated, giving Tobi a sideways glance.

"The universe guides your fate," Marah explained," clearly enthusiastic about the topic.

Kapri opened her mouth to add something, but only puffs of smoke came out.

"You're right," Marah agreed with Kapri's smoke puffs. "Some things are meant to be." She looked adoringly toward Dustin. "Some… people are meant to be."

Dustin shuffled his feet and nervously ran a hand through his hair.

"Wait, you two are…" Shane said, pointing between the two.

"You see, man, I knew there was something I was holding back with Hunter," Dustin explained, making nervous faces, "but I like didn't know what it was. And now I know."

"We're meant to be together!" Marah cheerfully chimed in. "It's our destiny. And I don't even care that he had a boyfriend or anything like that."

The others looked from Marah to Dustin, who grinned uncomfortably.

"I belong here," he added, gesturing around him. "I'm not the crazy or outrageous one anymore. I can be me and no one has to tell me to like tone it down. It's the Twilight Zone, dudes!"

"Dustin, you do not belong here," came the calm yet authoritative voice of Sensei from Tobi's shoulder.

Dustin looked at Sensei with big brown puppydog eyes. "Sensei," he began in a pleading tone, "I fit in here."

"You 'fit in' back in our dimension, where you are still a Power Ranger," Sensei replied.

"But Hunter and Blake's parents are alive here," Dustin defended. "And Cam's mom… Dude, she's like your wife and all." He kept staring at Sensei until Tobi could feel the guinea pig shift on his shoulder.

"Dustin, this is not your destiny," Sensei finally said.

"Sensei," Dustin addressed, lowering his voice. "Aren't you always saying to like listen to your inner ninja? My inner ninja says I need to be here." Sensing that Sensei was about to object again, he gestured toward Shane and Tori. "We'll all be happier here. Right?" he asked Shane and Tori.

The muscles in Shane's jaw tensed, but he kept his mouth closed. Tori put a hand on his arm, sensing the tension. "Right, dude," Shane choked out.

"See!" Dustin beamed. "And, look, you already got a guinea pig friend too!"

"We are _not_ friends," the other Sensei replied.

Tobi looked over at Shane. He had chosen not to tell Dustin about his brother and Tori didn't mention her mom, but why? Would they really give up their own families and their scroll-foretold destinies to make Dustin happy? Yes, they would. And, he knew he would too, but it was not easy on any of them. Tobi could see it in both Shane and Tori's eyes and he knew it probably reflected in his own. Still, even Sensei was quiet as Dustin encouraged Marah to shake her tambourine around.

"We better be going," Tori said, her hand still on Shane's arm. Tobi could sense that she needed to get away from Dustin's influence to really assess the situation. He wondered if he did too.

"You guys can invite Cam and his mom too," Dustin immediately offered happily. "Cam could play guitar and his mom can… do whatever she does. It'll be awesome! We can all do a huge performance together!"

"That does sound awesome," Shane offered, "but my voice isn't really that great today." He coughed for effect.

"What about you, TZT?" Dustin asked, turning to Tobi. "What can you do? Instrament? Sing? Dance? Got some crazy moves? I'd _so_ like to see that!" He let his eyebrows raise as he grinned wildly.

"Uh," Tobi replied, "I used to sing a long time ago, but I doubt I could—"

"You have to join us!" Dustin interrupted.

"I didn't know you could sing," Tori said.

"Yeah, well…" Tobi mumbled. "The last time I sand in public was at… our mom's funeral."

"Oh," she replied, puckering her lips and looking back at Dustin.

Dustin watched Tobi for a moment, all of the excitement gone from his face as fast as it had come. "Your mom's…" he began.

"Yeah," Tobi said. "In this dimension, she died when a Zord attacked the town."

Dustin looked from Tori to Tobi as she gave her brother a sympathetic look that seemed to say, "I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to tell him." While they both wanted Dustin to be happy, he would have found out eventually.

"My brother… Porter, he's… dead too," Shane decided to finally admit.

Dustin had an overwhelmed look in his eyes. "Dude, I'm… sorry."

"He is," Marah chimed in. "he cares a lot about you guys. He says you mean a lot to him."

The muscles in Shane's arms tensed but he tried to shrug off Dustin's concern. "Look, it's cool bro," he said. "It's not like we were ever close. He was always ragging on me…" His dark eyes were noticeably shiny.

Dustin blinked several times and looked down before turning to Marah. "Hey, I'll… cath you later," he said. "I got… stuff to talk about with these guys…"

"That's okay," she replied. "I understand. I need to get Kapri some water anyway."

"And singing lessons," the grumpy Sensei chimed in.

Marah leaned up and kissed Dustin on the cheek before running off with Kapri and giggling.

When Dustin turned back to face the others, his cheeks were flushed and he had tears in his eyes.

"Dustin…" Tori started to say, but Dustin waved his hand. He needed a moment to compose himself and everyone obliged him.

Once he was ready, he stared seriously at each of them. "You don't need to tell me I always rush into things without thinking," he said slowly. "I just… I thought it was supposed to be, like…"

"Destiny," Tori finished.

"Yeah," he agreed, "but destiny can't have you lose your mom or you lose your brother," he added, turning from Tobi and Tori to Shane.

"Dustin, if it will make you happy," Tori offered, tuning to look at Tobi, "I'm sure we'd all be willing to live with a little… sacrifice." Tobi nodded and she offered him a weak smile.

"Yeah, bro," Shane agreed.

Dustin's eyes went to Tobi's shoulder and he knew Dustin was waiting for a reply from Sensei. "All I can tell you to do is to do what would be best… for the team," Sensei finally offered.

Dustin's watery eyes became lost in thought.

Tobi felt something within him compelling him to say something. "Dustin…" he said barely above a whisper. "I don't believe in destiny. I don't believe there's one fate and there's no escaping it. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, you can change it. Even if an ancient scroll from a thousand years ago said you were supposed to save the world, it's up to you to do it. You make your own destiny. And…" Dustin looked up and their eyes met, brown colliding with blue, and Tobi's voice caught in his throat. The rest barely came out even as a whisper. "…and I… _we_ will always… love you no matter what you choose."

"You guys would give up…" Dustin said, his voice trailing off. "For me?"

"Tobi's right," Tori said, her eyes also shiny. "We love you."

"No matter what, bro," Shane added.

Dustin looked almost… remorseful and guilty. He blinked away the tears from his eyes. "Cam's smart," he said. "He'll know what to do."

Tobi gave him a confused look. He was giving up his decision on which destiny to follow to let Cam make it for him? But, then, maybe Dustin really didn't want to be the one to choose. There was no way to make _everyone_ happy. It was something Dustin seemed to realize even before Tobi did.

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Later, Shane, Tori, Dustin, Tobi and the two Senseis arrived at Cam's mom's house. Cam was sitting outside on the front porch, alone. He was looking down and his face had a far away look.

"Cam, what's wrong?" Tori asked immediately walking up and sitting down next to him. Tobi took a seat on the opposite side while Shane and Dustin watched.

"Was she not there?" Shane asked.

"No, she's here," Cam said quietly.

"Cam, talk to us," Tori encouraged.

"She doesn't want anything to do with me," he said somberly, adding, "with _his_ son."

Tori looked over at the Senseis on Tobi's shoulders.

"Dude, why would she be like that?" Dustin asked.

"I have no idea," Cam replied.

"People are… different here," Shane reminded Dustin.

"Right," he agreed, thinking. "Maybe we should check on Hunter and Blake."

"Did you want us to try talking to her?" Tobi offered.

Cam shook his head and stood up. "No, I'm… ready to go."

"Cam…" Tori said softly, standing and putting a hand on his arm.

He turned to look at her, a mixture of hurt and confusion in his eyes. "Thanks," he whispered, "but I'll be okay." He took her hand in his and squeezed it, still looking into her eyes. She blushed for a moment before he turned to Tobi and the two Senseis. "I'm sorry, dad. I… had to know."

"I understand, my son," Sensei replied.

"She was a bitch anyway," the other Sensei muttered.

"Don't you _ever_ say that about my mother," Cam warned, the edge in his voice surprising everyone, turning even the grumpy Sensei silent. He then turned back to the others. "So, let's go find Goldwinger."

Shane and Dustin exchanged surprised looks. "Uh, right," Shane agreed.

"But let's get Hunter and Blake first," Dustin chimed in. "I mean, like if their parents were ninjas and everything before they died, these guys might be _evil_ ninjas."

The others looked at each other. "Dustin has a point," Tori agreed, watching Cam out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll let them know we're going to meet up with them where they are," Shane offered, raising his morpher.

"Uh, Cam?" Tobi asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure if it was the right time to bring this up or not. "Can I ask you a… science question."

Cam groaned and adjusted his glasses, looking from his father back to Tobi. "Of course," he replied with exhaustion in his voice.

"Well, Sensei—both Senseis really—think the element I can control is… light," he began.

"Light is not an element," Cam pointed out.

"I know," Tobi replied, "but it's something you get by pulling energy out of matter."

"Energy is not drawn out from matter without a loss of mass," Cam explained. "Matter can be converted into energy."

"So… I'm not going to cause an atomic explosion?" Tobi asked.

Cam raised his eyebrows. He shook his head before sighing and continuing. Apparently, he was used to being asked questions that made little to no sense. "A flame is produced by the conversion of matter to energy," he explained, "but it does not always lead to a forest fire. It think it's more probable that your element is fire, possibly electricity or lightning."

"Are you saying I was wrong?" the grumpy Sensei asked in a slightly less hostile than expected tone.

"Maybe," Cam answered with a sigh. "Scientifically speaking, I'm going with the more probable."

"You're not the idiot I thought you were," that Sensei told Cam. "Not that I'm saying I was wrong! I still think it is light; rare but the ancient Dawn Temple taught the worship of light."

Cam stared at him for a moment.

"I'm just saying that… I may have been wrong about you, Cam," he continued in a much softer tone. He looked over toward the house. It's just… not easy being a guinea pig."

"_He_ seems to be able to deal with it," Cam said, gesturing toward his father on Tobi's opposite shoulder.

"Because he's a stupid clone!" Sensei spat before noticing Cam's glare. "This isn't about him," he quickly said in a gentle tone, hopping from Tobi's shoulder over to Cam's shoulder. "It's about you and me and… I'm sorry. Your mother and I… have had our share of issues to deal with and I admit that I may have taken that and my physical form out on you. I may have… overlooked the type of a person you became."

Cam turned to the guinea pig on his shoulder, giving him a both surprised and confused look.

"I'm trying to say I'm proud of you!" he shouted. "Say something, you idio—son…"

"What can I say?" Cam asked. "You're not my father."

"Cam, I…" he whispered, looking down.

"Let us give them a moment," the calm Sensei still on Tobi's shoulder whispered into his ear. "It may be beneficial to all of us if my counterpart resolves his… issues."

Tobi nodded, stepping away. "If he can change, why not Lothor?" he whispered to Sensei.

Sensei was quiet for a moment. "I will… consider that possibility," he finally agreed.

Tobi turned and smiled at him. He couldn't help but think there was hope for his sister… and maybe even her friends, the other Power Rangers.

"For now, if your element is fire, I should be able to train you farther," he suggested. "Fire, although connected to earth, is taught under the element of air, which I studied in my youth. However, if you would prefer to train under Shane…"

"No, that's fine," Tobi replied. "I'm just kinda puzzled by my _twin's_ element being water and mine fire."

"I'm not certain it is fire," Sensei conceded, "but additional training will reveal that. And twins are not always identical even when they appear to be." He gave Tobi a knowing look, and Tobi thought of Sensei's twin brother who became Lothor.

Tobi looked from Sensei over to Dustin, who was glancing around with strong emotions playing out on his typically carefree face. "Are you okay?" Tobi asked, walking over to him.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I'm just like choosing my destiny, you know?"

Tobi nodded weakly. He was starting to wonder if Dustin really ever had a choice. It was almost like his destiny was set in stone… or scroll. Because of who Dustin was as a person, there really was only one path to choose. He'd choose his friends, the many, over Marah, the one, but what about her destiny? What about _their_ feelings? After all, Dustin deserved happiness but didn't everyone? Could he go back to Hunter or even… Tobi? What would make him… and everyone happy? If unhappiness made someone mean and potentially evil like Sensei said, making other people happy had to be all of their goals in life. It had to be everyone's… _destiny_.

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To be continued...

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_**Author's Notes:**__ Aw, the drama continues! Also, I added in Tobi being able to sing for the funeral reference and truth reveal, but I was thinking about actually having him sing at some point. Too corny? Please review and make suggestions regarding the story, events, characters, etc. Your input helps shape the story! It's true. Just look at earlier reviews to see that for yourself. Oh, and please vote in the poll on my profile page if you haven't__**. I will put at least one past generation character in the next chapter!**_


	22. From Urban Legends to Legendary

**ATTENTION!****: I have created a new poll that asks **_**"How do you feel about having a character ****die**** in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?"**_** Please vote! As always, I will go with what the poll says. And, since you can click "****Review this Chapter****" at the bottom of the page and review ****ANONYMOUSLY****, feel free to vote that way too since you have to log in to vote in the poll (located at the top of my profile page if you click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Thanks!**

**LAST POLL RESULTS: **_**"What previous generation Power Ranger(s) should appear in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?"**_** First place goes to Wes, second is tied with Eric and Kimberly and third is tied amongst Tommy, Ryan, Lucas and Trip. Honorable mentions (those that received one vote each) are Jason, Billy, Rocky, Adam, Mike, Jen, Katie and Merrick.**

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_Author's Notes: _**_I hope this chapter was worth the long wait. I have moved my comments (and questions!) to the end of the chapter to avoid creating reader bias. You'll see…_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi puts the two Sensei's on his shoulders and meets up with Shane and Tori before visiting Dustin at the park. Dustin finishes a musical performance with Marah, Kapri and some aliens and kelzacks before revealing to the others that he believes he's destined to stay in Tobi's dimension with Marah. Because Cam's mother and Blake and Hunter's parents are alive in that dimension, he thinks everyone will be happier there. At first Tori and Shane try to keep their dead relatives in that dimension a secret in order to keep Dustin happy, but the truth comes out and Dustin is forced to decide between his friends and Marah. To emphasize his choice, they find Cam outside his mother's house saying she doesn't want to see him again. The group then decides to meet up with Blake and Hunter...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 22 (From Urban Legends to Legendary)

* * *

**

The group met up with Hunter and Blake outside the Blue Bay Harbor Shopping Plaza, a glorified strip mall designed to somewhat resemble a park.

"Ouch!" Cam cried for the tenth time. "I'm not a pin cushion. Maybe you should rejoin my father on Tobi's shoulder instead of mine."

"You're… father?" the Sensei on his shoulder scoffed. "I still find the whole 'parallel dimension' story a little hard to believe, but I suppose it would explain a lot…"

"Tobi, please take this Sensei," Cam pleaded in exhaustion as Hunter and Blake greeted the others.

"But I want to stay with you," the Sensei on Cam's shoulder insisted.

"Please, for me," Cam begged.

"Fine," the guinea pig reluctantly agreed. "But, if he blows me up or turns me queer, I'm blaming you!"

Cam gave Tobi a wordless "thank you" with his eyes as the guinea pig was placed on Tobi's shoulder opposite Cam's father.

"So, when they weren't here, we thought maybe the Thunder Ninja Academy is still standing here and we'd find them there," Blake told Shane.

"Because… your parents were ninjas too," Shane realized, remembering their spirits being in the Mountain of Lost Ninjas.

"They were the ones who brought us to Sensei Omino to train when we were kids," Hunter added, turning to Dustin. "That's why we had to move that day when I said goodbye to you."

"Dude, I remember it was raining," Dustin replied. "I never forgot that, but I guess I was still kinda clueless until you told me that was you."

"You were the sixth grader," Shane realized. "Dustin thought you turned him gay."

"Hey!" Dustin protested. "I didn't say that!"

"Didn't you hit him in the face with a volley ball?" Shane recalled.

Hunter blushed. "It was an accident,," he defended, turning to Dustin. "And, you told him you thought I made you gay?"

Dustin fidgeted nervously. "I didn't say that," he defended. "I just said you made me wonder because in like middle school and after, I started noticing guys and Shane pointed out they were all blondes and…" He looked down, embarrassed.

"It's the whole blonde looks yellow thing," Shane suggested with a grin.

"So that's your secret, bro," Blake teased his brother. "It's your hair color. I always knew it couldn't be your charming personality that attracted people to you."

Hunter turned and glared at his brother, shooting invisible lightning bolts out of his eyes.

"I think we can all agree Hunter's more than just a pretty head of hair," Tori offered.

"Thank you, Tori," Hunter said slowly, still glaring at Blake.

"So…" Shane said with a sideways look between his friends, "are we going to find Goldwinger or Blake and Hunter's parents?"

"Our parents first," Hunter replied quickly.

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "We can't go back without seeing them. Then we'd always wonder…"

Shane nodded. "I get it," he agreed. "Besides, not all of us are sure we want to go back." He looked at Dustin with a knowing stare.

Dustin grinned, trying to look together but clearly uneasy behind his chocolate eyes and dark curls. "I'm still thinking about that," he told them.

"Dustin did have a point earlier," Tori chimed in. "What if your parents are… evil ninjas?"

Hunter and Blake exchanged looks. Clearly, neither had thought of that.

"Wait," Dustin said, blinking and waving his arms. "Did I just figure something out before you guys?"

Since neither brother replied, Tobi decided to remind Dustin, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Dustin grinned at him. "Comic book geek strikes again!" He offered Tobi a high five, but when Tobi went to meet Dustin's hand, he ended up with a guinea pig hanging from his hair.

"Don't let it go to your head, Dustin," tori warned, helping Tobi put the dangling Sensei back on his shoulder.

"Sensei… from this dimension," Cam addressed. "What do you know about Hunter and Blake's parents?"

The guinea pig shifted its weight on Tobi's shoulder. "I know they are very powerful ninjas. How they produced these two, I have no idea."

"Are they… evil?" Cam asked.

"Evil?" Sensei repeated, confused.

"You know, like you," Shane offered.

"I'm not the one into bondage," Sensei told Shane.

Cam sighed. "I don't think he's necessarily _evil_. Misguided, maybe. Jaded, definitely. Evil, I don't think so."

"Maybe if this Sensei can change," Dustin began, thinking, "you guys' parents can turn from the dark side too."

"The dark side?" Shane repeated, turning to Dustin.

"You know what I mean," Dustin defended, making the sound of a lightsaber battle while waving his arms. "Shane… I am your father."

Shane just grinned and shook his head before turning to Cam's father on Tobi's opposite shoulder. "Sensei, what do you think?"

"Since we do not yet know where to find Goldwinger, Blake and Hunter should avail themselves of this opportunity," Sensei said wisely. "However, caution is advised."

"Of course, Sensei," Blake said, he and Hunter bowing slightly before turning to go."

"Hold up!" Shane called. "We're going with you."

The two brothers turned around, surprised looks on their faces.

Tori grinned. "You don't think we'd let our _friends_ go off alone?"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "Last time you guys came back evil again." He frowned at the obviously unpleasant memory.

Hunter looked at Dustin. "I remember everything I did and… I'm still really sorry."

Dustin's expression changed quickly as he tried to dismiss Hunter's concerns. "It's cool, bro. I know you couldn't control yourself."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed quietly.

"Let's find a place to go and streak to the Hunter Ninja Academy," Shane suggested. "You guys'll have to lead the way."

"Dude, maybe we should like get TZT a backpack or something first," Dustin said, watching Tobi. "That looks kind of uncomfortable, especially if we're going really far away."

Tobi could feel one of the Sensei's trying to sit on his shoulder, but it just made him slip, making him grab Tobi's hair more forcefully while digging his tiny feet into Tobi's shoulder blades. "Yeah, a backpack would be nice," he agreed.

"Well, we are at a mall," Tori pointed out, gesturing toward the nearby stores.

Dustin seemed to realize something. "TZT, do you still have that weird money?" he asked.

Tobi felt around in his jeans pocket and found his plastic bag of cash. "Yeah, but I don't have enough for anything fancy," he said.\

"We should get something easy to carry over long distances and something comfortable for my father," Cam said, adding, "both my fathers."

"Right," Shane agreed, shaking his head and leading the way.

"And, Tori, I should align your morpher first, just in case," Cam added.

"Just make sure you remember how to align it back," Tori agreed before whispering something to Cam who nodded.

The first store they passed by was one selling baby supplies and Dustin immediately stopped, an excited expression on his face. "Check it out!" he shouted, grabbing a double stroller. "It's perfect! The Senseis get to ride around in style. They even get a little cover for shade," he added, lowering a shade over the two seats. "Man, I'm so jealous!"

"Dustin, my father is a guinea pig, not an infant," Cam pointed out, looking up from Tori's morpehr.

"I'm sure he doesn't want to be stuffed in a backpack, dude," Dustin defended. "Right, Sensei?"

"I will be comfortable in whatever you choose," one Sensei replied.

"I like the shade," the other Sensei said. "I am _not_ being shoved in a backpack."

"So, who will push around the stroller?" Blake asked, his eyes wandering toward Tori.

"What?" Tori asked, glaring at him and taking back her morpher from Cam more forcefully than necessary. "Because I'm a girl?"

Tobi groaned. "I'll do it," he said in a defeated tone. Someone had to take one for the team.

Everyone gave him a surprised look, but he just shrugged.

"Perhaps we should consider something more practical for _streaking_," Cam suggested.

"Oh… right," Dustin realized, frowning.

"It's okay, Dustin," Tobi offered, actually relieved not to have to push around a stroller full of guinea pigs. "Maybe some day you'll get to push a stroller around.:"

Dustin thought about that. "Do you think me and… Marah would have cute kids?" he asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Tobi replied, surprised. "Oh…" He pictured Marah as she leaned up to kiss Dustin on the cheek and thought of them falling in love, getting married and… having kids. They'd look like their father, so they'd be adorable, but they'd also look like their mother and Tobi knew he was a bad judge of female beauty. But, still, he could see it in his mind and… in his mind, Dustin was not just a father, but a very happy father. He played with his kids and loved them and he loved… his wife. "Yeah, I think they'd be great," Tobi choked out. "You'll make a great dad some day."

"You think so?" Dustin asked, almost… hopefully.

"Yeah, I totally see it," Tobi agreed, trying not to sound emotional. Suddenly he saw a small boy with tanned skin, wavy dark brown hair and big brown eyes. Tobi blinked and shook his head for a moment and the boy was gone. It must have just been his imagination.

"It sounds like we should buy condoms while we're here, before Dustin becomes a dad," the formerly grumpy Sensei announced. "Trust me, Dustin, fatherhood is not what you think it is."

Cam folded his arms while Dustin looked embarrassed. "I think I see a sporting goods store over there," Cam suggested, eyeing the two Senseis.

"So, you… really care about Marah?" Hunter asked hesitantly, walking over next to Dustin.

Dustin gave him a nervous grin. "She's…"

"Nice," Hunter finished for him. "Yeah, I remember, but would you really want to stay here just for her?"

Dustin thought about that. "No," he admitted, "but there's more here than just… her."

Hunter thought for a moment too. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed. "I just hope you're not also right about our parents." His expression suddenly changed. "Hey, what happened between Cam and his mom?"

"I think you'll have to ask Cam that," Tobi chimed in.

Hunter put a hand on Dustin's shoulder and stared directly into his eyes. "I want you to know, Dustin, I'll always love you no matter what you… decide." He didn't say it in a sentimental way, but just like he was stating a fact. Tobi envied how together he was. Maybe it came from believing in destiny. He then smiled and preceded to ask Cam about his mother, a topic Cam did not seem to want to relive.

Dustin turned to Tobi and whispered, "Hunter can't get pregnant."

Tobi gave him a confused look. "Uh, that's not a secret," he pointed out, looking over at Hunter. So, Dustin was giving him another try? "There's always adoption," he offered. "Hunter was adopted. If anyone believes that adoption can work, it would be him."

Dustin thought about that and seemed to be slightly more satisfied. Tobi couldn't help but sigh a little to himself. He always seemed to be pushing Dustin toward Hunter. But why? Maybe, deep down inside, he felt that they were supposed to be together, maybe even destined to be together. But what about _his_ destiny? It seemed it was still up to him to make his own fate work out.

Just then, Tori and Blake were knocked over as something ran past them. Everyone turned to see a giant pile of clothes scampering away from them.

"Clothes monster?" Shane suggested, helping the two up.

The pile was composed suspiciously of clothes that were almost exclusively shades of blue, but they still looked separate. Plus, there were blue boots sticking out below the pile that were carrying it along.

"Stop, thief!" a voice shouted. The others turned from the startled clothes as it lost a pair of jeans to an alien emerging from the nearby clothing store. The alien looked roughly like a fashion model, though probably closer to a deformed drag queen.

"I said one item of clothing would suffice," a female voice called from across the parking lot.

The pile of clothes changed directions toward the voice, where it met up with a woman wearing pink overalls and matching candy pink glasses as she emerged from the sporting goods store that the group had been heading toward. Her arms were full of all kinds of equipment, from ropes to pick axes.

"As if!" the pile of blue clothes protested. "You can't limit my fabulousness, you know!"

"Let's just make a hasty departure before we find ourselves apprehended and you find yourself without a new wardrobe," the woman in pink said, joining the pile of clothes in a getaway.

"Gwen Stefani boots, don't fail me now!" the blue pile cried.

"Stop her!" This time a shell-shaped alien was calling out from the sporting goods store.

Tori turned to Shane and seemed to say something without words. He nodded and raised his arms.

Suddenly a wind whipped through the parking lot, toppling the woman over and scattering her supplies while sending articles of blue clothing flying everywhere.

A blue thong landed on Dustin's face. He removed it, studying what it was. "Blue's not my color, dude."

"So, you'd go for a thong if it was yellow?" Tobi asked, not being able to help but picture Dustin in a thong.

Meanwhile, the woman in pink was trying to gather up her now strewn equipment while the flying clothes revealed a man in sparkling jeans and a blue leather vest who was currently chasing after his assortment of stolen clothes. "My clothes! My fabulous clothes!" he yelled.

The group exchanged looks before approaching the two and blocking their escape routes. "Maybe that will teach you to pay for things next time," Tori suggested.

"Don't move!" a metallic sounding voice announced. Everyone looked across the parking lot toward the street to see what looked like an ugly, skinny golden robot flanked by a group of humans in dark navy blue. "We have you know, Kimberly Hart and Billy Cranston," the robot continued.

Two of the humans moved in, brandishing laser pistols. "Now look what you've done," the woman in pink complained.

"This is like _so _not my fault!" the man in blue insisted.

"We'll take it from here," one of the two humans that had separated from the others said. They appeared to be young men of about the same age.

"Watch your back, Eric," one of the two warned the other. "They're not as weak as they look."

"I can handle myself, Wes," the other assured him, grinning.

Meanwhile, the remaining humans in navy had formed a circle around the group. By this time, a bunch of aliens, kelzacks and human shoppers had stopped to stare.

"Thank you for your help in detaining them," the golden robot said to Shane, Tori and the others.

"I guess shoplifting is like a seriously major crime here," Dustin commented with wide eyes.

"Actually, we have been pursuing these two all the way from Angel Grove," the robot replied. "I have calculated that they are most likely working their way south to the Robotics Institute of California where Alpha 6 and Circuit are stored."

"So, the supplies must be for the attempted break in," the human named Eric suggested.

"They probably thought we'd never look in a place nobody's ever head of like Blue Bay Harbor," the human named We commented before adding to the group, "No offense if you guys live here."

"No, we're… visiting," Shane answered. "So, who are you guys?"

"We are the Golden Guardians," the robot answered. "I am Frax and this is Wes and Eric, my two top men."

"The Golden Guardians?" Blake repeated.

"You know, like the Golden State," Eric explained. "We're California's only human-based security force."

"If we still had our powers, you would regret ever tracking us down," the woman in pink, Kimberly declared.

"But you never will again," Frax told her. "And I doubt even your Alpha 6 would have been able to help you two escape justice for long. It was our hope you would lead us to Doctor Oliver himself, but clearly you two were on your own. The lack of coordination proves that."

"Alpha 6? Powers?" Dustin repeated, becoming excited. "They're Power Rangers!" he shouted.

"Former Power Rangers," Frax corrected. "Please keep your voice down. I promise you there is no need for alarm. They had already passed on their powers to new Power Rangers long ago and any remaining power was destroyed after the evil Zordon was finally defeated."

"Oh, right," Dustin realized. "Because the Power Rangers are all evil and stuff."

"They're not all evil," Wes said defensively. "_We're _not all evil…"

"That is true," Frax added, noticing the surprised looks on some of their faces. "Those two actually used to be Power Rangers." He gestured to Wes and Eric. "But once the Time Force Power Rangers were defeated and returned to the future, these two regretted their actions and pledged to do good and help others from then on. They even helped in finally capturing the Time Force Rangers. That was two years ago. I put them at the head of my team because of the… unique abilities they possess."

"So you guys must be… the red Time Force Power Ranger and… the Quantum Ranger!" Dustin concluded.

The others looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Don't look so surprised, Eric," Wes said. "It's only a process of elimination if you know who was sent back to the future."

"Of course," Eric realized.

"I've read every one of the Power Rangers Time Force comics!" Dustin bragged excitedly. "Up to the last one with the red and pink rangers' tearful farewell. It was a little mushy, but…"

"Pink ranger, huh?" Eric commented. "I always thought it was the green ranger he cared about." He grinned over at Wes.

"Shut up, Eric!" Wes demanded.

"You'll have to forgive my boyfriend," Eric told the others. "He never did get over a certain green haired boy."

"Eric, I'm warning you!" Wes growled.

Eric chuckled. "So, they made comics of us?"

"Well, kinda," Dustin replied.

"That would take some explaining," Shane interrupted. "So, have you Golden Guardians come across a moth-like alien called Goldwinger?"

"The name does not sound familiar," Frax answered. "The mayor of Blue Bay Harbor has been extremely cooperative. Perhaps you should ask h—"

Zap! Zap! Zap! Suddenly the surrounding humans in navy began flying backward as they were blasted by something. Everyone turned to see a shadow blur to a stop and begin to take shape. It formed a man in a black cloak with a goatee and fierce eyes.

"Doctor Oliver," Frax greeted. "So, you have not abandoned your friends."

"Tommy, you do still care," Kimberly whispered.

"No, I don't!" Dr. Oliver barked. "I just happened to be in the area."

"An unlikely story," Frax replied before calling, "Attack!" A panel on his finger opened and a small missile shot out toward Dr. Oliver, but he vanished into a shadow of smoke. "Do not let him escape!"

Wes and Eric began blasting away at the swirling shadow as it streaked around them. Suddenly it formed back into Dr. Oliver right next to Wes and began spin kicking him.

"Wes!" Eric screamed, attacking Dr. Oliver.

The doctor waved his finger tauntingly and turned back into a dark cloud before reforming nearby and shooting what looked like lightning out of his body.

Almost instinctively, Tobi raised his arms and pushed energy out from his body into the air in front of him. A bright flash and then a shock wave sent the lightning right back at Dr. Oliver. He fell backward a step, but quickly recovered. In a flash, he was gone as a shadow streaked around, knocking everyone over.

"I think it's time the Power Rangers showed up," Hunter suggested.

Shane nodded toward him and they slipped back toward a secluded area behind a store. Fortunately, all the aliens, kelzacks and humans were too busy either watching or running away from the fight.

They all quickly morphed while Tobi watched. Except for Dustin. He went through the movements only to notice he hadn't changed and, only then, did he remember that he couldn't morph.

The others wasted no time rushing back to the fight while Tobi turned to Dustin, who looked a little lost.

"Are you okay?" Tobi asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He insisted.

"You may not be a Power Ranger anymore," Tobi began, "but you still have power."

Dustin grinned at him. "You're right," he agreed, "and so do you," he added, heading back to watch the fight.

When Tobi followed, he thought he saw the same small boy as before watching them, but he quickly dismissed it as his imagination.

Meanwhile, the now morphed Power Rangers were flying at the quickly moving shadow from all sides.

"Power Rangers?" Frax said as Eric and Wes helped him up. "_Active_ Power Raners? They must be stopped at any cost. Forget the doctor for now. Taking out these Power Rangers is our top priority."

"But they look like they're attacking Doctor O.," Eric pointed out as Tori was thrown backward by a shadow kick.

Frax studied the action fro a moment before a loud voice interrupted, announcing, "I knew I'd find you again!" It was Mayor Lothor, surrounded by aliens and kelzacks.

"Wait! We're on your—" Blake tried to explain as Vexacus slid into him, knocking his breath out.

As Lothor and his allies began to attack the Power Rangers, a shadow slipped over to Kimberly and Billy. "You owe me big time," Dr. Oliver's voice said as he began to take shape.

"Doctor Oliver is freeing them!" Frax shouted, but it was too late. The two had been carried away by a black streak.

"Damn it!" Wes cursed.

Meanwhile, Shane was thrown into Cam by Shimazu.

"The Power Rangers used the fight to cover their escape," Frax concluded. "Get them!"

The humans in navy as well as Frax joined the attack on the Power Rangers. Since none of the ninjas wanted to hurt their misguided attackers, they were using only defensive moves like shields, gusts of air, torrents of water, etc., and were quickly outmatched.

"We can't win this," Cam said from within his Samurai Power Ranger suit.

"He's right," Shane reluctantly agreed.

The five morphed rangers streaked over to Dustin and Tobi before streaking off together with them.

* * *

Once they were in the safety of the woods, they demorphed and caught their breath. "I'm like really sorry I couldn't help you guys," Dustin immediately apologized. "It's like so unfair. Maybe if it wasn't a parking lot…"

"Don't worry about it, bro," Shane encouraged. "We would have bailed anyway."

"Shane's right," Hunter agreed before turning to the others. "We've got to remember that we're the bad guys. We're going to get attacked again if we morph."

"Then we'll have to use our morphers sparingly," Cam advised. "It might be a good idea to find Goldwinger soon."

"We'll just avoid fights, Cam," Hunter told him.

"Hunter," Tori said hesitantly, "I think it's safe to say that your parents aren't going to be who you remember."

Hunter looked down for a moment.

"You heard those guys, Tor," Blake chimed in. "They were Power Rangers but they didn't stay evil."

"You guys think this means _all_ Power Rangers are real back in our old dimension?" Dustin asked.

"What?" Shane asked. "Like from all your comic books?"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "We're real and like, if they're all real here, then maybe they're all real back there."

"And, if we go back, they might be able to help us," Tori added.

"I suppose it's possible," Cam offered. "If each Power Rangers team is local to a particular city like our team, and media coverage is frequently limited or even blocked, they may have become nothing more than urban legends."

"You guys thought the Power Rangers were urban legends," Dustin pointed out.

"It was mostly Tori," Shane replied with a lopsided grin.

Tori shook her head. "So, I was wrong. Am I never going to live that down?"

"I wonder if that means Bigfoot is real?" Dustin asked, his eyes darting around the woods.

"Wait, Tori was wrong about something?" Blake teased.

She folded her arms. "Maybe I was wrong about a lot of things. Like… us."

Hunter jabbed his brother in the ribs. "Tor, I…" Blake stuttered out, "I said I'm sorry and… all that."

"Smooth, bro, real smooth," Hunter told him before turning to the others. "Look, maybe one of us should streak back unmorphed to get a backpack." He then dragged his brother toward Tori. "Blake wants to talk to you alone," he told her.

"I don't know what to say, except that maybe he should take pointers form his brother," she replied, only glancing at Blake out of the corner of her eyes. "At least Hunter knows how to treat someone he cares about."

"You… and Tori?" Blake asked his brother.

"We're friends," Hunter defended. "That's all."

"That's more than I've got," Blake pouted. "She hates me."

"I don't hate you," Tori defended. "I… I like you… a lot."

"Really?" Blake asked hopefully.

She looked at Hunter, who offered her an encouraging smile. "Sure, really. Maybe we should… give it another try."

"Thanks, Tor!" Blake re-plied happily. "You're the best!"

"Except when it comes to sex," Tori mumbled.

Blake glanced around nervously at the others. "Uh, weren't you guys deciding who was going to get a backpack for Tobi?"

The others looked back and forth, trying to pretend like they hadn't been listening in on the conversation.

"I'll go," Tobi offered. "Since I'll be carrying it and I have the money, it makes sense. Here, Cam, can you take the Senseis while I'm gone?"

"Sure," cam reluctantly agreed, grimacing.

"I'll go with you," Dustin offered.

"I'll be okay," Tobi replied. "I'm sure you want to be with Hunter."

Dustin looked at Hunter as he seemed to be giving his brother advice.

"No, dude, I… wanna ask you something," Dustin whispered.

"Okay," Tobi agreed, trying to hide his smile.

"Catch you guys later," Dustin called. Hunter looked over with a confused expression just as Tobi and Dustin streaked off.

* * *

The two landed their ninja streak just inside the city and Tobi turned to Dustin as they then walked. "So, what did you want to ask me?" he asked.

"TZT, you're like Tori in that I can count on you for an answer, but I think you get me better then she does, more like Shane, but I know you'll always give me an honest answer even if it like… hurts, right?" Dustin explained nervously while biting his bottom lip and watching the ground in front of them.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tobi admitted, realizing how much trouble he had protecting Dustin's feelings by bending or omitting the truth. "And… thanks for the compliment. So, what was it you were going to ask?"

Dustin smiled at him, but it was a slightly forced expression. "You think you can make evil Tori good?"

"My sister?" Tobi asked. "I… I _hope_ so. I will try. I mean, if we ever go back…" He looked at Dustin, trying to read his emotions.

"What about evil me?" he asked.

"I don't know," Tobi admitted, thinking. "What doesn't make sense to me is that Cam said he found files or something that made him think the other Dustin liked me, but that Dustin said he felt nothing but… pity for me."

Dustin frowned. "That's like no fair, dude." He seemed to realizes something. "Maybe he was scared to tell you how he really felt?" he suggested.

"Dustin scared?" Tobi replied skeptically. "In any dimension, there's no such thing as a Dustin who's a coward."

Dustin grinned at him.

"But I thought he was Cyber Dustin at first," Tobi recalled, "and I told him the Dustin who I loved wasn't him but… was you."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. "So, you like dissed him and he was… jealous?"

"Maybe," Tobi admitted. "Why do you care about him?"

Dustin bit his bottom lip. "I just like…" he began. "If me and you can't… I just like want you to be happy, TZT."

"Thanks…" Tobi said, looking at Dustin's dark eyes as the brunet watched the road. "Maybe they can all change," he offered, deciding not to add that he didn't fele like he himself could change when it came to how he felt.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I think there's like some good in everybody."

Tobi looked at him quickly. "You really believe that, don't you?" he asked. "You trust everyone's intentions because… you'd never have bad intentions. So, you believed Hunter when he said you two were destined to be together but you also believed Marah when she said the same thing."

"I don't believe _everything_ people say," Dustin disagreed. "I know it's like people's opinions and stuff."

Tobi remembered something. "I was trying to convince Sensei that maybe Lothor could change, but he didn't believe it was even possible."

"You think Lothor can turn good?" Dustin asked skeptically. "Man, you're even more trusting than me!"

Tobi grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said, once again finding himself fighting the urge to at least hug Dustin.

"So… you think the other Marah could turn good too?" Dustin asked.

Tobi noticed a hopeful look appear in Dustin's eyes. "I guess it's possible," he conceded.

"So, like, if Hunter and Blake's parents are evil, we'd go back and I'd be the yellow Power Ranger again and have my powers and my bike and I'd be awesome…" Dustin trailed off.

"Why do you like her so much?" Tobi asked.

Dustin grinned nervously. "She's nice and cute and…"

"I mean, what originally made you like her, the other Marah who tricked and used you?" Tobi interrupted.

"Oh," Dustin said, thinking. "There was something about her. She didn't think she was good enough… or bad enough," he corrected, "to fit in. Everyone thought she was dumb and a screwup."

Tobi looked at the emotions in Dustin's eyes. "You think that's you," he realized, "that you're the one who's dumb and a screwup. You already said you didn't feel like you fit in. That's why you wanted to stay even though you lost your powers here… It wasn't just Marah. You felt like you could fit in here. Or, at least be… 'less weird.'"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I wouldn't be like the goofy one. Not with talking octopuses and stuff all over. I don't feel like a total airhead for not getting anything in the Twilight Zone because, dude it's the Twilight Zone!"

"But I thought you liked being the goofy one," Tobi pointed out.

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "Who told you that?"

"Nobody, I guess," Tobi admitted, "but you like to make people laugh. And I'm not just talking about playing 'airhead.' Like when you said Inflatron was 'really just full of hot air after all,' that wasn't an airhead thing to say. It was a clever joke and you even made Cam laugh. And that's not easy!"

"Oh, so right!" Dustin agreed.

"So, you do like to be the goofy one then?" Tobi asked.

"I guess," Dustin agreed. "It's like my job to keep the team together."

"Even if that means pretending to be dumb," Tobi added.

"Maybe…" Dustin admitted, his mouth forming a Cheshire Cat grin. "I'm like a doctor."

"A doctor?" Tobi repeated.

"You know, dude, like 'laughter's the best medicine," Dustin quoted.

"Right," Tobi agreed. "It's also easy for you because that's who you are, but that's not_ all_ you are. You might be the yellow Power Ranger, but you cant' always shine like the sun. I've seen your other sides… how you care so much about other people that it makes you insecure about yourself, how you blame yourself before anyone else and how…" He had to stop himself. For some reason it really hurt him to talk about that side of Dustin outloud.

"It's like you can read my mind, dude!" Dustin declared. "And you're the one who shined like the sun, TZT."

"Oh," Tobi realized, thinking of the explosion he caused. "Does she get you?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh? Oh," Dustin realized. "Yeah, sort of. We're not like totally different. She's kinda weird too," he added, grinning.

"So, she offered you a chance to be less weird," Tobi realized, "not just because of this dimension, but because she's… a girl."

Dustin looked embarrassed.

"But what about Hunter?" Tobi asked. "What will happen to him?"

Dustin frowned. "I don't know… I still like him a lot…"

"Dustin… have you figured out if you… _love_ anyone yet?" Tobi asked hesitantly. "Marah, Hunter… me?"

Dustin glanced at him quickly before looking back at the road. "No…" he replied quietly. "I was trying to… make it happen."

"Make it happen?" Tobi repeated.

"Make me fall in love," Dustin clarified, "but I can't…"

"Oh, Dustin…" Tobi sighed.

"What's wrong?" Dustin asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Tobi asked.

"I was the one who wanted you to be all honest no matter what," Dustin reminded him.

"Okay," Tobi agreed, taking a breath.

"I know you're not trying to," Tobi said, "but you're leading people on."

Dustin gave him a quick, horrified look.

"Marah, Hunter," he continued. "You're making them… _hope_. And one of them is going to get hurt badly. Believe me, I know."

Dustin stopped walking and turned to Tobi. "You're right," he told him, an array of emotions playing out in his eyes, "but what do I do?"

Tobi honestly didn't have an answer for that. What would have made Dustin choosing Hunter over him hurt less? What could Dustin have told him or done? "I honestly don't know," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, dude," Dustin told him. "You're always there for me. I wish… I wish I could fall in love with you…"

"Yeah," Tobi gulped. "A word of advice, Dustin. Don't tell Hunter or Marah that."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Trust me, it won't make them feel better," Tobi explained. "Save the word love for when you feel it."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. "Sorry…"

"No," Tobi told him. "Your heart's in the right place."

"Thanks, TZT," Dustin replied. "I'm glad you can like make sense of what's in my head."

"Anytime," Tobi told him. "What are friends for?"

"Friends, yeah," Dustin agreed, squinting. "Hey, I just noticed you and Marah have the same color eyes. Isn't that freaky?"

"Yeah, freaky," Tobi agreed, raising an eyebrow. He never even knew Marah had blue eyes. Dustin just grinned at him with that goofy look of his and Tobi found himself smiling back at him with what he was sure was an equally goofy expression.

* * *

By the time the two found their way back to the Blue Bay Harbor Shopping Plaza, everything seemed to have returned to normal. So, the two entered the sporting goods store and looked for a backpack.

"What about this one?" Dustin suggested, holding up a bulky yellow backpack.

"The color's nice," Tobi offered with a smirk, "but I don't need a million pockets. I need something light."

Dustin put the backpack back, while Tobi noticed a mannequin modeling black lycra swim shorts with yellow stripes. He then looked at Dustin, then back at the shorts.

Dustin looked over. "I know what you're thinking," he said, grinning, "but I don't look good in dark colors." He then moved his attention back to the backpacks.

"What are you talking about?" Tobi asked. "Your training suit is black and you look hot in that. This is just like it, only… smaller."

"Only smaller," Dustin replied, giggling. "And people say I get distracted easily. I wonder what you'd look like in ninja training gear… Oh! This one'll work!" he announced suddenly, holding up a grey backpack with gold trim. "It looks kinda like the one the green Time Force Power Ranger always worse. It has one big section just like his and he carried around Circuit in it."

"Circuit?" Tobi repeated.

"Yeah, he was a robot owl from the future," Dustin explained, putting the backpack on Tobi. "The green ranger used Circuit to call for Zords from the future."

Tobi adjusted the backpack straps until he was comfortable, then he realized something. "Frax said something about Circuit." He tried to remember. "That Circuit and the other robot…"

"Alpha 6," Dustin added.

"That they were in the… Robotics Institute of California," Tobi finished. "If we could get Circuit and reprogram it…"

"Cam probably could do that," Dustin suggested.

"Right," Tobi agreed. "Then, we could use it back in your dimension to call on the Power Rangers from the future for help. Since all the Power Rangers are good, right?"

"'Reinforcements from the Future!'" Dustin announced.

"Right," Tobi agreed.

"That's the name of a two comic book special for Power Rangers Wild Force," Dustin clarified.

"Uh, sure," Tobi replied. "I wonder why Frax isn't in the Robotics Institute."

"Because in the comics Frax used to be human," Dustin explained.

"Wait, Frax was in the comics too?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "Like so much for urban legends."

"It does seem a little strange the comics are made of 'urban legends' that turn out to be true," Tobi pointed out, approaching the register to pay for the backpack.

"I know, dude," Dustin agreed. "It's like Gold Wing Comics has spies everywhere. Hey, I wonder if that means we're gonna be in comics!"

Tobi rolled his eyes and paid the shell-like alien behind the counter before turning to leave. "Wait a minute," he realized. "'Gold Wing Comics?'"

"Yeah, they make—" Dustin began. "Oh, Goldwinger, the moth dude," he realized. "You think…"

"It's worth looking into, if there's a Gold Wing Comics in this dimension too," Tobi suggested as they left the store. He paused, turning to Dustin. "But, if we find Goldwinger, are you coming back with us?"

Dustin turned to Tobi and smiled. "I'm going wherever my _friends_ choose to go," he replied before freezing.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, watching Dustin's face scrunch up in concentration.

"I don't know," he replied. "It's like… a feeling."

"Maybe you're sensing your element," Tobi suggested. "The other Dustin did that before. Maybe it's an earthquake somewhere."

"Oh," Dustin realized. "Yeah, I think that's it."

Just then, the two heard a familiar voice call out Dustin's name. They looked up to see Marah running over to them with a big smile on her face. …But she wasn't alone. Beside her was a small boy with wavy brown hair and big chocolate eyes wearing a brown and beige camouflage shirt and shorts.

"Marah," Dustin greeted, surprised.

"Geo said you were over here when the Power Rangers attacked," she said, concern flickering only momentarily in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay!" She then gave him a big hug.

Tobi just looked from Marah and Dustin over to the boy that he had thought was a figment of his imagination.

"Oh," Marah realized, breaking her hug and leaving Dustin with flushed cheeks. "This is my cousin, Geo," she said, gesturing toward the boy. "Say hi to Dustin," she encouraged.

"Hi," Geo said, looking up at Dustin with a curious expression.

"Your cousin?" Dustin repeated.

"Well, he's adopted, but that doesn't matter?" she replied.

"No, it doesn't matter," Dustin agreed.

"We're all children of the earth," she added. "By earth, I mean ground, not the planet Earth, obviously, since not everyone's from Earth."

"Uh, right," Dustin agreed, furrowing his brow before looking down at Geo. "Hey, Geo, dude." He laughed. "Geodude, like from…"

"Pokémon," both Tobi and Dustin said in unison, exchanging silly grins at their synchronicity.

"I like Pokémon," Geo declared. "I have Pokémon toys and Pokémon cookies."

"Cookies, huh?" Dustin repeated. "I never had those before."

"I like the chocolate ones," Geo continued.

Marah giggled. "I always call him my little chocolate cousin."

"Chocolate cousin?" Tobi repeated. "Because he looks like chocolate?"

She gave him a funny look. "Uh, because he only eats chocolate," she explained. "But since they have chocolate cereal, pancakes, muffins, sandwiches, fries, chocolate covered vegetables and all that, he still gets a balanced meal."

"Chocolate for every meal?" Dustin asked, his eyes widening. "Woah, awesome! You're so lucky, Geodude!"

Geo giggled at him. "I know! I'm awesome!"

"You two kind of look alike," Marah realized, picking up Geo under his arms and holding him in front of Dustin.

"Stop it!" Geo giggled, kicking his feet. "That tickles!"

Dustin hesitantly took hold of Geo, trying to figure out how to hold the fidgeting kid.

"Aw," Marah cooed. "You two look so cute together." She then pulled out a camera and proceeded to take a picture. "Kapri will love this once she gets down with voice theropy."

Geo had managed to wriggle around and grab Dustin around the back of his neck. Tobi looked between Marah—who, yes, it turned out did have light blue green eyes after all—and her camera and the boy hanging off a grinning Dustin. And, as Marah put her camera away and slung an arm around Geo and Dustin, they looked like… a family.

"Are you friends with the Power Rangers?" Geo asked, still hanging off Dustin's neck.

"Why would you ask that?" Marah scolded, confused. "Dustin would never associate with those evil creatures."

"But I saw him with them when they morphed," Geo insisted. "He even tried to morph too, but he couldn't."

Dustin grimaced before looking at Tobi for support.

Tobi sighed. "The Power Rangers aren't evil," he told Marah.

"What?" she asked. "What are you saying?" She removed her arm from the two and backed up, looking Dustin in the eyes. "Dustin?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "My friends are… Power Rangers."

At that exact moment, the earth began to shake. "Aaaah!" Geo screamed, tightening his grip on Dustin's neck and nearly strangling him.

"Calm down, Geo," Marah advised, trying to steady herself. "It's only an earthquake."

Tobi looked at Dustin's eyes as they seemed to gloss over. "No," Dustin declared, "it's not."

Just then, his morpher beeped.

_**

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To be continued...**_

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Author's Notes:**__ What did you think? When I wrote this, I was sick. I felt like my head was going to explode and I didn't have the strength to clean up the mess. I wrote this chapter mostly nonlinearly and then put it together. My mind was hazy, but when you read it, you did not know this, so how did it turn out? Honestly._

_I introduce a lot of things in this chapter that will come up later, such as Tobi's dimension's versions of a few past generation Power Rangers, Time Force, Gold Wing Comics, Marah's cousin, etc. What are your thoughts on some of these things? If you dislike something, it will be waned down. If you really like something, I'll try to have more of it. Not enough action? Too much talking? Do you think I'm staying true to everyone's characters and how they would react? Let me know!_

_*****Remember, you can review anonymously! This means you, all those dozens of people who read the story (I can see chapter stats) can let your opinion be known without having to reveal your secret identity as a super hero.*****_

_To my dedicated regular reviews, thank you!_

_Thanks _**Magichalo**_ for your constant suggestions that inspire new ideas in me! I hadn't thought of the Sun as an element. It's an interesting idea and you might have noticed Tobi and Dustin briefly mention it. It has elements of fire in it too. Also, when I was writing this chapter, I thought about what you said about a counter element of darkness and I decided, in Tobi's dimension, to give it to Tommy. I'm not sure what I'll do in the regular dimension yet, but I had an idea come to me. Unfortunately, it centers around the death of a character. Hence the poll. I guess I'll see how the results turn out. As far as thunder and training with Hunter, I decided to reference that suggestion in the next chapter since I ended up having so many things for Dustin and Tobi to discuss and a bunch of other stuff happened. I look forward to any other ideas you have after this chapter._

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess **_for your constant encouragement and support! During Dustin's talk with Tobi, I tried to have the two sort through Dustin's feelings for Marah a bit, but I also realized that I needed an obstacle that can come between them. Hence her finding out he's a Power Ranger. I understand that you want Dustin to be happy but the other rangers also to be happy, which means that he must somehow find happiness back in their original dimension. How that comes about, we'll see. I like your idea about having each person choose their own destiny and dimension to stay in. If some of the evil Power Rangers can be turned good, maybe they could trade places with their counterparts. Obviously, you don't want evil (turned good) Dustin to end up staying with the good Power Rangers, but what about another character, say evil (turned good) Blake or Hunter or something like that staying with the others? Ah, don't worry, I'll figure out some way to make everyone happy, but not right away…_


	23. Tobi's Short Circuit

**ATTENTION!****: I have created a new poll that asks ****"How do you feel about having a character **_**die**_** in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?"**** Please vote! As always, I will go with what the poll says. And, since you can click "**_**Review this Chapter**_**" at the bottom of the page and review **_**anonymously**_**, feel free to vote that way too since you have to log in to vote in the poll (located at the top of my profile page if you click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Thanks!**

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_Author's Notes: _**_Thanks __**Ghostwriter** for always being so quick to read my new chapters! Given the phrase "Awesomeness abounds!" I'll take it that the chapter came out well and me being sick didn't impede on anything. This chapter furthers the storyline presented in the last chapter. Enjoy!_

**YellowPrincess**_, I'm taking a guess that you didn't log in or something and that's why it's an unnamed anonymous review. You might think, how do I know that's your review? I can just tell… Anyway, the drama between Dustin and Marah won't be resolved in this chapter because I ended up dealing with other stuff, but I will try to resolve it soon so don't worry. As far as which Dustin stays where and which ends up with Tobi, I'm glad you have an open mind because I honestly haven't really decided yet. I actually make a lot of this up as I go along. And I knew you'd like the comment about Hunter being more than just a pretty head of hair. It seemed like something Tori would say… Regarding the poll, as of when I am typing this, it seems like you're not the only one who doesn't want anyone to die. I'll see what I can do about giving everyone a chance at a happy life like you suggest. And, thank you, I'm feeling better now (finally)!_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**The group decides to get a backpack to carry the two Senseis, but their shopping is interrupted by Kimberly and Billy trying to steal equipment and clothes. They detain them long enough for Frax, Wes, Eric and the Golden Guardians to show up. Unfortunately, Doctor Oliver (Tommy) appears with the ability to turn into a shadow of smoke. When mayor Lothor shows up to attack the Power Rangers, Dr. Oliver is able to escape with Kim and Billy. Frax blames the Power Rangers and the group is outnumbered and forced to retreat to the woods. Tobi leaves alone with Dustin and the two have a long talk about Dustin's feelings. After finally purchasing a backpack, the two run into Marah and her little cousin Geo when an earthquake hits, but Dustin senses it's not just an earthquake. Then his morpher goes off...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 23 (Tobi's Short Circuit)

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Dustin hesitated, looking from Marah to his beeping morpher. As the shaking began to subside, he raised his wrist. "Uh, Cam, this like isn't a good time, dude," he said, "but if it's about the earthquake, it wasn't one."

"It's Tori," Tori's voice replied, "and I know it wasn't an earthquake. Something's rising out of the ocean floor. Are you and Tobi alone?"

"Uh, no," Dustin answered. "Marah's here…"

"What? Right there? Dustin—" she began to scold.

"Chill, Tor," he interrupted. "She already knows we're Power Rangers. And, no, I didn't tell her. Her cousin did."

"Cousin?" she repeated.

"I'll explain later," he said quickly. "I'll meet you guys back there in a minute." He then pressed a button and lowered his wrist.

"So… you are Power Rangers," Marah said, squinting. "That's where I remembered your friends from," she realized. "That day Kapri and I helped the mayor defeat you…"

Dustin looked confused for a moment. "no, that was the evil us," he tried to correct.

"And now you make an earthquake… or worse," she gasped, immediately prying Geo off Dustin forcefully.

"But Marah!" Geo protested.

"You tricked me to… I don't know," she accused Dustin. "Maybe to get near to the mayor to take him out. You knew I was trusting and I believed in _us_…" She covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. "I never want to see you again!" She spun around, dragging her cousin with her.

"Marah!" Dustin called.

"She's just hurt right now," Tobi confronted him, placing a hand on his arm.

"But it's no fair," he complained. "I didn't even do anything!"

"I know," Tobi mumbled. "Give her some time. Right now, we need to get back to the others."

Dustin looked at him and nodded. "Dude, you're right." He then looked up at the retreating Marah one last time before streaking off with Tobi.

* * *

When the two appeared back in the woods, everyone was standing around looking ready to go, like they had just been waiting for Dustin and Tobi to return.

"What's wrong?" Tobi was the first to ask.

"Something… big came out of the ground and is in the ocean now," Shane explained, looking to Tori.

She had her eyes closed and appeared to be focusing. "It's moving toward the shore," she said.

"You should have sensed it first, bro," Shane told Dustin, "even before the earthquake."

"I did," Dustin defended, "but I thought it was like _just_ an earthquake." He looked down, frowning.

"Dustin, I'm sorry," Shane said, approaching him. "I didn't mean to chew you out. I just…"

Dustin gave him a forced grin. "No, it's cool, bro." He clapped a hand on Shane's shoulder and then walked over to the others.

Shane had a confused look on his face. "He just has a lot on his mind," Tobi told him.

"So, did you get a backpack in all that time?" Hunter asked Dustin suspiciously.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we got one," Dustin replied.

"Let us go then, rangers," one of the Senseis suggested. "We will observe what it is, but not yet engage if it proves hostile."

"Yes, Sensei" the others agreed.

"I am _not_ going in there!" the other Sensei insisted as Cam helped the two Sensei's into Tobi's backpack.

"I suppose you could walk," Cam suggested.

That Sensei huffed, taking his place next to his fellow guinea pig in the backpack.

The others nodded at each other before streaking toward the beach several miles south of Blue Bay Harbor.

* * *

The group stood near the shore, watching waves crash against the surrounding cliffs. "What's it doing now?" Shane asked Tori.

Tori concentrated again. "It's… just sitting there, I think. The water's not moving. It's like it vanished."

"Then I guess we wait," Shane advised with a shrug.

Tori opened her eyes and looked at Dustin. "While we wait, maybe you can tell us why Marah knows we're Power rangers?"

"Her cousin saw us—you guys—morph," he explained.

"We should be more careful," Blake suggested.

"I think Kelly's seen us morph or at least knows," Hunter added.

"What? What makes you say that?" Tori asked.

"How many bosses are okay with her employees constantly bailing on her?" he pointed out. "She's not stupid. We always leave when there's a monster attack and the Power Rangers show up."

"Hunter and Blake have a point," Sensei's voice said from behind Tobi. "Discretion is advised, especially here where the Power Rangers are feared."

"We can trust Kel," Dustin insisted.

"I didn't say we couldn't," Hunter replied. "If she does know, she's kept it a secret even from us."

"Good point, bro," Blake agreed.

"So… Dustin," Hunter addressed. "If Marah knows about us, is she okay with it?"

Dustin looked down, frowning and kicking his feet in the sand. "No," he said quietly. "She thinks I tricked her. She never wants to see me again."

Hunter glanced over at Tobi and sighed before looking back at the hurt look in Dustin's eyes. Reaching out a hand, he lifted Dustin's chin until their eyes met. "If she cares about you, then she'll come around," he told Dustin. "And, if she doesn't… then that's her problem."

Dustin continued to pout, so Hunter pulled him into a hug, which Dustin accepted after only a moment's hesitation.

Tobi turned away quickly, took a breath and then walked over to Cam. "Dustin had a couple ideas I thought I should tell you," he said.

Cam looked from Hunter and Dustin to Tobi and raised an eyebrow.

"He's not as dumb as people think he is," Tobi said in a hushed tone.

Cam just smiled and nodded.

"You already knew," Tobi realized.

"He has a lot of… random things that go on in his head, but he's not all heart with no brain," Cam explained quietly. "He's actually very curious about how the world works."

"How do you know so much about the way Dustin thinks?" Tobi asked.

"It helps that I spent so much time as an outside observer," he explained.

"Oh," Tobi replied, glancing back at Dustin and Hunter before continuing. "Anyway, he mentioned that the company that makes the Power Rangers comics that just happn to be true is called Gold Wing Comics and I thought…"

"Goldwinger," Cam finished.

"It's worth looking into," Tobi suggested. "Also, he said that there's a robotic owl called Circuit in the Robotics Institute of California that has the ability to contact the Power Rangers from the future. I was wondering if you could reprogram it so that we can call on reinforcements once we're back in the other dimension."

"I'd have to see the robot first," Cam explained, "but future technology may be exactly what we need to permanently turn the tables on Lothor. So, Dustin's going to want to go back?"

"He says he's going wherever his _friends_ go…" Tobi replied.

Cam smiled. "I'm glad," he said. "Somehow I suspect you played a roll in convincing him."

"Well, we did talk," Tobi offered.

"Right," Cam agreed. "Don't tell him this, but… I would have really missed him."

Tobi gave him a surprised look. "I always knew you cared."

"I'm not all brain with no heart," he told Tobi.

"Don't worry," Tobi replied with a wink. "I'll keep that to myself."

Cam grinned. "I appreciate that."

"Oh, but I might have let it slip that you like Tori when I was talking to her when she was under Mindzine's control," Tobi decided to confess.

"Tori is smart enough to know anyway," Cam conceded.

"At least I didn't mention your computer program where she strips…" Tobi added.

The sound of a guinea pig clearing his throat came from behind Tobi.

"What did you do that for?" the other guinea pig complained. "They had forgotten all about us. We could have heard all kinds of dirty little secrets!"

"That would be disrespectful," Cam's father explained. "Besides, I want to talk to Cameron."

"Fine," the other Sensei agreed. "Queer boy, turn us around!"

"Speaking of disrespectful," Cam mumbled.

"Queer boy, _please_ turn us around," the voice replied.

Tobi rolled his eyes and turned his back to Cam so the Senseis could talk to their son.

"Look, Cyber Tori was just a program I was—" Cam began to explain.

"I am not concerned with your recreational activities, son," his father told him.

"I am!" the other Sensei insisted.

Cam's father sighed. "What I was going to ask you, son, is if you believe the object that rose out of the ocean floor is a Zord."

"I suppose it's possible," Cam agreed. "You mean, as in an ancient Zord?"

"Precisely," his father agreed.

"And you think we might need to get the Zords that he other Dustin started working on operational just in case," Cam suggested.

"It would be a wise course of action," his father said.

"What about Gold Wing Comics or the robot that may be able to contact future Power Rangers for help?" Cam asked.

"They are both promising leads," his father agreed. "Didn't you take a field trip to the Robotics Institute of California?"

"Yes," Cam replied. "And, since I know where it is but not anything about Gold Wing Comics, maybe I should look into the robot first."

"How long would that take?" his father asked.

"Not long just to check it out," Cam replied.

"Then perhaps you should go there while the others remain here," his father advised. "After that, you can return to Ninja Ops and begin work on the Zords."

"Alright," Cam agreed

"And, can you build a self destruct feature?" his father asked.

"Why?" Cam asked, concern in his voice.

"When we do leave and undoubtedly return the other rangers here, there must not be Zords waiting for them," his father explained.

"I understand," Cam replied.

"So Dustin really was working on Zords…" the other Sensei pondered.

"In secret," Tobi added over his shoulder.

"It seems Dustin can be quite surprising in any dimension," Cam's father mused. "Cam, perhaps you should take Tobi and us along. He can continue his training and provide assistance as needed."

"Sure," Cam agreed, leading Tobi away.

"Where are you guys going?" Shane asked.

"We will briefly visit the Robotics Institute before returning to Ninja Ops so that Cam can work on the Zords should they prove necessary," Cam's father explained. "Tori and Dustin, if you sense any changes, use your morphers to contact Cam or Tobi immediately."

"Yes, Sensei," they agreed.

"Thanks," Hunter said, approaching Tobi.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"Dustin apologized for 'leading me on' and said some other stuff I know he got from you," Hunter explained.

"Oh," Tobi replied. "Well, he trusts me even after all I did and he's always there for everyone else… Someone should be there for him." He paused before adding, "I guess right now that's you."

Hunter smiled. "Don't worry," he told him. "I won't let him down… ever again."

"Thanks," Tobi gulped before saying goodbye to the others and joining Cam.

"Bye, TZT!" Dustin called as the two streaked off away from the beach.

* * *

The Robotics Institute of California was a large metal and glass building located in Reefside, California. As Cam and Tobi rounded the corner of the building, a huge hole in the building's side greeted them. It was still smoking. The two exchanged looks as a security officer approached them.

"I'm terribly sorry," the approaching officer called, "but tours have been canceled until further notice."

"What happened?" Cam asked, gesturing toward the side of the building.

"There was a break in," the officer explained.

"Was anything stolen?" Tobi asked hesitantly.

The officer looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Former Power Ranger robotic assistants Alpha 6 and Circuit are missing," he reluctantly admitted. "They were housed in a protected laboratory and Alpha 6 has been confirmed stolen, but Circuit is believed to have simply escaped during the break in."

Cam and Tobi exchanged another look.

"I'm not saying there's anything to worry about," the officer continued, "but I would advise you to return home and remain there for now. Local authorities have already been alerted and will issue an update via local news agencies when the situation has been resolved."

"Thank you," Cam offered, turning to go. "Well, it was a short trip after all," he told Tobi.

"If Circuit wasn't taken, can you track him?" Tobi asked.

"Not without the Mobile Command Center," Cam replied as the two walked away from the building. "Ninja Ops doesn't have the range."

Something occurred to Tobi. "If you knew the general area to look, could you track it?"

"I suppose I could use the Super Samurai mode when I morph," he suggested.

"I see…" Tobi said slowly, raising his communicator. "Tobi to Dustin," he called.

"What's up, dude?" Dustin's voice greeted.

"I was just wondering where the Time Force Power Rangers lived in the comics," he asked.

"They lived in a big clock tower owned by the red ranger's dad," Dustin explained.

"Do you know the name of the city?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Dustin replied. "Silver Hills. Why?"

"We're tracking down Circuit," Tobi answered. "We'll let you know when we find it. Thanks, Dustin."

"Uh, anytime, dude," he replied as Tobi lowered his wrist.

"What are you doing?" Cam asked.

"Playing on a hunch," Tobi replied.

"A hunch?" Cam asked.

"A feeling," Tobi elaborated. "Obviously you didn't play silent observer around Dustin enough," he added with a grin.

"Apparently not," Cam replied, confused.

"If I'm right, Circuit will go to the Time Force Power Rangers former place of operations," Tobi concluded.

"Please be quick with your excursion," the voice of Cam's father came from Tobi's backpack. "The rangers may need the assistance of Zords soon."

* * *

So, Tobi streaked after Cam as he led the way to Silver Hills, California. After streaking around the city several times, the two stopped. "I didn't see a single clock tower," Cam said.

"Me neither," Tobi agreed.

"Just because it was in a comic book…" Cam began.

"Obviously it's a different dimension, but everything else seems like it matched the comics," Tobi interrupted.

"Maybe we should return to Ninja Ops," Cam suggested.

"Let's take one more look around," Tobi encouraged. "Maybe you should morph so you can scan the area."

Cam sighed. "Alright," he agreed, "but then we're returning to Ninja Ops."

The two streaked around until Cam noticed an empty lot that had obviously previously housed a demolished building. He paused, scanning the area until he noticed a small metallic object hovering.

"What is it?" Tobi asked, streaking up to his side.

"I think I've found what we're looking for," Cam replied.

"Maybe you should try convincing him to come with us," Tobi suggested. "You are a green Power Ranger after all."

"Okay," Cam agreed, shrugging. "Circuit?" he called as he approached the metal owl hovering in the center of the vacant lot.

"Trip?" the owl chirped, flying over toward Cam.

"Uh, no, but I'm the current green Power Ranger," Cam replied.

"Oh…" Circuit replied, almost sounding disappointed.

"I need you to come with me back to my lab," Cam continued. "Can you deactivate yourself?"

"Why?" Circuit asked.

"Uh," Cam hesitated, "because there are people looking for you and I don't want them to be able to track you," he explained.

"That makes sense," Circuit agreed. "Those nasty humans are always after us."

"Nasty humans?" Cam repeated. "Isn't the other green ranger human?"

"Trip is a Xybrian! Circuit protested.

"Non humans unite!" a voice called from Tobi's backpack. Tobi groaned. "I was only trying to help."

"Silence would be the most helpful at this time," another voice advised from within Tobi's backpack.

"So, will you come with me?" Cam asked Circuit.

"Of course," it agreed. "I'm programed to aide the Power Rangers in their conquest of Earth."

"Uh, great," Cam replied slowly, taking Circuit in his gloved hands. "So, how do I deactivate you?"

A panel on Circuits back opened. "Just press the red button," Circuit explained, "but don't forget to turn me back on!"

"Don't worry, I won't," Cam told it, pressing the button. The owl immediately fell limp, its eyes no longer glowing.

"Mission accomplished," Tobi told Cam.

* * *

After returning to Ninja Ops, Cam demorphed and immediately began to study Circuit. "I've never seen anything like this," he said in awe.

"Well, it is future technology," Tobi reminded him while removing his backpack.

Cam looked like a kid in a candy store. "It uses photonic data transfer, meaning even a strong magnetic field would never permanently damage its memory," Cam commented. "And, speaking of memory, its total memory capacity is incredible. Ah, here we go," he said, activating something.

"Hey, that tickles!" Circuit said, its eyes lighting up. "Where am I?"

"You're in a place called Ninja Ops," Cam explained.

"Why can't I move?" Circuit asked.

"I'm still checking your circuits, uh, Circuit," Cam replied. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Do not forget about the Zords," Cam's father warned.

"Don't worry, dad, I won't," Cam agreed. "Now, Circuit, what do you know about the Power Rangers?"

"Which generation of Power Rangers?" Circuit replied. "I am programmed with complete profiles for the past one thousand years of Power Rangers."

"Perhaps we should go to one of the training rooms for your training, Tobi," Cam's father said.

"What about him?" Tobi asked, gesturing toward the other Sensei.

"I'll be humping my tree," the other Sensei replied, hopping off.

Tobi and the remaining Sensei exchanged looks before retreating to the training room.

* * *

Crash! A chair collided with the training room wall before falling to the floor noisily. "You are improving quite well," Sensei told Tobi.

"It gets easier each time," Tobi replied.

"Let us now try a challenge," Sensei said, setting the chair upright and placing a single pellet of guinea pig food on top of it."

"But it's too small," Tobi protested.

"Just focus on the organic elements that make it separate from the chair itself," Sensei advised.

Tobi raised his arms and concentrated.

Smash! This time, the chair sparked and actually broke in two. "I didn't expect that to happen," Tobi commented.

"It seems that your element may react differently when it comes to metallic surfaces," Sensei theorized. "Perhaps it has properties in common with lightning. I may have you also train with either Blake or Hunter. For now, though, just focus on the combustible elements in the food pellet. The chair is metal, so it can not burn. Only the food can catch on fire."

"Okay," Tobi agreed, concentrating. It was extremely difficult to focus on something so small, but he finally found it in his mind and saw it burn. "Is it really burning?" he asked Sensei.

"Unlike the bonsai, yes it is really burning," Sensei replied.

Tobi smiled. "So, now that I have that down, I was wondering how I can sense my element?" he asked. "You know, like how Dustin can sense earth or Tori water or Shane air."

"First, clear your mind of everything," Sensei advised.

Tobi closed his eyes and practiced his breathing exercises.

"Good," Sensei commented. "Now, let your unconscious mind wander outside and around yourself."

Tobi peaked an eye open. "And, how do I do that?" he asked.

"It's not that different from how you sensed something with the air around you, but you must spread yourself out more, over a larger distance until you finally feel yourself on the brink of slipping away," Sensei explained. "And, do not worry. You will not actually leave your body through this method. I will monitor you."

Tobi closed both eyes again and relaxed his mind, letting his feelings drift out. After a while, something began to take shape. "I can see the room," he told Sensei.

"Good," Sensei encouraged. "Keep going."

Tobi stretched himself further until he felt weightless. Had he left his body? Everything seemed to be blending together into one giant pulsating glow. After a moment, he began to recognize familiar objects. Trees were these glowing vines that were connected to one another beneath the surface of the sparkling earth. Eventually, he found the ocean, which resembled a breathing pulse. There was something else, something all around him, but he couldn't quite explain it. It was just a feeling.

Suddenly he felt a burning pain in his lungs and he found himself lying on the floor, writing in pain all over his body. He was gasping for air and when he looked down, his clothes were singed. "What happened?" he choked out.

"You stopped breathing and caught on fire," Sensei explained, concern in his voice. "I am sorry. I… never expected this to happen."

"It's not your fault, Sensei," Tobi told him, noticing that his arms had blisters on them. He lifted his charred shirt and saw that his chest was burned too. He looked at Sensei. "How… how bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," Sensei said slowly. "I'll get Cam." He quickly hopped away.

Tobi tried to find a mirror, even though he was afraid to see what he looked like. Would the burns heal? For a moment, he remembered the wilting bonsai that he had healed. Could he heal himself? He remembered seeing the tree on fire in his mind while it was healing. The last thing he needed was to catch himself on fire _again_. Still…

He decided just to focus on a small part of his arm. He was sure to focus on that intangible force inside his skin and not on actually creating fire. Fire would be just something he saw… if he did it right. It didn't look like it could get much worse.

He focused on his arm until he found strands of light and focused harder on those. Immediately, his whole arm seemed to catch on fire, spreading through his body. He screamed, a tingling heat running over him. So much for getting it right the first try.

Cam came rushing into the training room, a bright orange medical kit in hand. He froze, his eyes wide.

"Do something!" Tobi cried, trying to snap Cam out of his shock while also trying to find a way to stop the fire from spreading.

"Do… what?" Cam asked.

"Get a fire extinguisher!" Tobi shouted. So much for Cam being the smart one. He remembered learning in school to stop, drop and roll, so he did just that. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and wondered how much longer he'd be able to see… and what would be let of him to see… Then, he passed out.

* * *

Tobi opened his eyes and looked around to see he was on a bed in a small room decorated with pictures of Power Rangers. He looked down at his arms and saw… that they were completely healed. "What happened?" he asked, looking over at a wide-eyed Cam and two guinea pigs.

"My father said you had accidentally set yourself on fire," Cam explained, wincing at the memory, "but when I arrived at the training room…"

"What?" Tobi asked.

"Your body was healing itself," he finished.

"So, it worked," Tobi realized, studying his body.

"You… knew you could do that?" Cam asked.

"I healed a dying bonsai tree," Tobi explained, "but I honestly thought I had set my body on fire again when I tried it on myself. I guess there's something inside living things that I can ignite. Well, maybe that's not the right word…"

"There is a spirit within all things," Cam's father explained. "It surrounds us and binds the universe together."

"Like the force?" Tobi asked.

"The what?" Sensei replied.

"I'll have Dustin explain it to you sometime," Tobi said, sitting up. Suddenly he felt extremely dizzy and weak. "Woah," he groaned, lying back down. "I guess that took something out of me."

"That's understandable," Cam replied.

"As I recall, you said you felt the same weakness when you healed the bonsai," Sensei stated, "so it may have more to do with using your abilities than with your body healing itself."

"I… owe you an apology, Tobi," the other Sensei chimed in.

Tobi looked at him with a surprised expression.

"It seems I may have… made a mistake in not training you as a ninja," he quietly admitted. "And, thank you for healing my bonsai. It may have been my fault it was dying," he added before hopping off.

Tobi gave Cam and the remaining Sensei surprised looks.

"He makes me wonder if the other versions of us can change," Cam commented.

"I think so," Tobi offered, trying to sit up again.

"Let me find you something to change into," Cam said, turning toward a nearby closet. "So, the other Dustin lives in Ninja Ops?"

"No," Tobi explained. "He just stays here sometimes when he needs to get away from his family."

"I see," Cam replied. "Well, I guess you'll like the wardrobe then."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, collapsing onto the bed.

"I was wondering, though, what's with all the Power Rangers pictures," Cam commented.

"Dustin was always into the Power Rangers," Tobi explained. "A lot of kids were. They were 'teenagers with attitude,' rebels who didn't do what their parents or teachers said. Half the time, they didn't even do what their leader said."

"Were you into the Power Rangers?" Cam asked, pulling out a pair of jeans and a button down yellow shirt with a gold dragon across the front.

"A little," Tobi confessed. "Maybe if they had used their powers for good like in your Dustin's comics books… Oh! Someone knows my tastes," he added, holding up the shirt. "Any shorts in there?"

Cam sighed, removing the jeans and turning around. "I'm surprised your Dustin was still into evil Power Rangers after the destruction and… deaths you told me they caused with their Zords."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled, shaking off the memory. "Well, right after that he started training as a ninja and, by the time Sensei revealed the whole Power Ranger thing, he was actually really excited," he explained while managing to remove his charred polo shirt and trying to put on the new button shirt.

"I see," Cam replied before turning around holding blue and yellow shorts and… a yellow trimmed black training outfit.

"Dustin had an extra!" Tobi exclaimed.

"Apparently so," Cam replied. "I'd recommend you put the shorts on first and then the training—"

"Thanks!" Tobi interrupted happily, taking the shorts and training outfit.

"You're welcome," Cam said with a sideways grin. "You might want to turn around," he advised his father. "Tobi isn't… shy."

"It's nothing I have not seen before in our first training session," Sensei replied, "but I will turn around. I recommend you do the same as a courtesy, Cam."

"I probably don't want to know about your first training session, do I?" Cam asked, turning around.

"Nope, you probably don't," Tobi replied, pulling off his jeans.

"I wonder where you pulled the energy from to heal yourself?" Cam commented, his back still turned. "Was it inside you or somewhere else? It had to come from somewhere."

"There is energy all around us to draw on," Sensei explained.

Suddenly Tobi froze, his shorts halfway up his legs. "That's it!" he realized, pulling the shorts on the rest of the way.

"What's it?" Cam asked, his and Sensei's backs still to him.

"You can turn around now," he told them while activating his communicator. "Tobi to Hunter," he called, already pulling on his training outfit over his clothes.

"What's up?" Hunter's voice greeted him.

"I think I know why the thing on the ocean floor stopped," he explained. "If you focus on sensing the electricity it's absorbing, I think you'll find it's draining energy from the planet. Dustin might be able to sense some of that too."

"Now you tell me," Hunter said, the sound of something in his voice.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, pausing in his dressing.

"We're not at the beach anymore," Hunter replied.

"Why not?" Tobi asked while Sensei hopped onto the bed next to him.

"We were waiting for a long time and Blake and I figured we might as well run up to the Thunder Ninja Academy just to check it out," Hunter explained, "and then Dustin wanted to come along and, since he can't morph, I didn't want him there if a Zord did emerge and start blasting away…"

"Hunter," Sensei called, leaning over Tobi's communicator," I understand your concern for Dustin and your desire to see your parents, but—"

Just then, Cam's morpher beeped. He raised his wrist, telling his morpher, "Cam here."

"It's Tori," Tori's voice answered.

"I would have thought you would've stopped them from going," Cam commented.

"I'm sorry, Cam," she apologized, "but—"

"It's my fault," Shane's voice chimed in. "I told them they could go."

"Now is not the time to assign blame," Sensei said, hopping closer to Cam's morpher. "Why have you called in?"

"It's coming out of the ocean," Tori replied.

"Morph while I call for the others," Sensei advised, hopping back over to Tobi. "Hunter, Shane and Tori need you. You and Blake will morph and join them. Under the circumstances, I feel it would be best if Dustin returns to Ninja Ops."

There was silence and then Hunter's voice. "Sensei Omino? What are you…?"

And then there was a painful grunt and a thud.

"Hunter?" Tobi called. "Dustin? Blake?"

Sensei and Cam exchanged a glance while Tobi finished dressing and tried to shake off his fatigue. "I have to see if they're okay," he insisted, handing Cam his charred underwear as he stuffed his plastic bag with the remaining money in it under his pants and into his shorts.

"You're not going anywhere in your current state," Cam warned. "I'll have Shane and Tori see what happened with Hunter and the others. I've set up an interface with Circuit so that we can see what it does. I'll send it to monitor the thing coming out of the water."

Tobi couldn't do much more than growl as he reached for Cam's arm to help him out of bed and back to the main room. "Maybe you should send Circuit to check on Dustin and the others first," he managed to choke out as he leaned heavily on Cam's shoulder.

"Circuit can't travel as fast as a ninja can when they streak," Cam explained, looking around. "Where's Circuit?"

"Where's the other Sensei?" Tobi added.

"I believe this explains things," Cam's father said, removing a note from near the bonsai tree. The others approached as he read the note. "Dear Cam, clone and queer, I am not stealing the stupid flying owl. I am trying to help get you back to your dimension so that you can bring me back my son. Sincerely, Sensei Kanoi Watanabe."

"What do you suppose he's going to do?" Tobi asked.

"I don't know," Cam replied, "but at least I can track where he is. First, though," he said, raising his wrist. "Shane, Tori, what is your situation?"

Boom! "It's definitely a Zord!" Shane called, grunting as explosions were heard.

"Rangers, fall back and regroup with the Thunder Rangers and Dustin," Sensei advised.

"Sensei, we don't know how to get to the Thunder Academy," Tori chimed in.

Cam sat down in front of his computer and pulled up the academy's portal access point. "I'm feeding the location to your morphers," he said, typing away. "Streak and you'll end up there."

"Where is Tobi?" Sensei suddenly asked.

Cam turned around and groaned. Tobi was already streaking toward the Thunder Ninja Academy. "Sometimes I feel like the only responsible one," Cam commented, turning back to the computer.

"It does not go unnoticed, son," his father offered.

As Cam tracked the rangers' movements, he heard someone entering Ninja Ops. Since Tobi wasn't always that impulsive, he turned, half expecting to find Tobi with a hasty apology ready. Instead, he saw two figures descending the path into Ninja Ops. As they stepped into the light, two adult ninjas were revealed and, by their appearance, they could only be… Hunter and Blake's parents.

_**

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To be continued...

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_**Author's Notes:**__ Let me know what you think about this chapter. __**Remember, you can review anonymously! Just click "Review This Chapter!" **__Thanks!_


	24. Ghosts from the Past

**ATTENTION!****: ****How do you feel about having a character ****die**** in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?"**** Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). As of when I'm typing this, it's a toss up between somewhat open to and somewhat against.

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_**Author's Notes: **The action is back! And I've finally decided on Tobi's element…_

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess **_for signing in first! ;) I thought that allowing anonymous reviews would give me more feedback to work off of, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case. It's not terrible that you didn't sign in since I'm psychic and all… Haha. Anyway, I'm glad you liked Tobi's powers, since I decided to go with them some more in this chapter. But as for Marah forgiving him and what happens with grumpy Sensei, I'll have to sort that out in the next chapter, because the action scene went a bit long here. But, don't worry, I will make sure to resolve things in the next chapter!_

_Thanks _**Magichalo **_for reviewing both chapters! I have some comments to make for both reviews: I'm glad you liked the hints of Wes/Trip. It's such an underrated pairing. I mean, Wes/Eric is common enough, but they weren't the ones hugging and all cuddly in the show. But Lucas/Trip would be awesome! Anyway, we'll see a little more of past rangers (and some past NS characters) in this chapter. And I did like your idea of having all of TF, but I wanted to save that for when the rangers return to their dimension since everyone in Tobi's dimension has to be different (like Wes and Eric's personalities being switched or Kim and Billy acting like a combination of the MMPR episodes Switching Places and Power Ranger Punks). The advantage of Tobi's dimension is, of course, that I don't have to follow the episodes. For instance, I can have Circuit stay behind in the present day and have Frax never be destroyed. As for the self destruct button on the Zords, either Cam will blow them up upon leaving the dimension or a certain something else will happen… And yes, Tobi didn't die from his burns because he's not an average person (an average person can't self combust, I don't think anyway). I'm glad you liked Geo. I think I'll bring him back in the next chapter._

_Thanks _**griffin blackwood **_for reviewing the last chapter! I suspected you had secretly been reading this story too. And I kind of wondered if you voted in the last poll because some of the past rangers that were voted for just happened to be the same ones in Hurricane Chronicles. Could be coincidence… Anyway, feel free to offer suggestions!_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Marah learns that Dustin and the others are Power Rangers and feels betrayed. Meanwhile, a Zord rises out of the ocean floor, but stops while it gathers energy from the planet. Cam and Tobi find Circuit, a robotic owl from the future who might be able to help them. Tobi trains with Sensei to control his powers but accidentally sets himself on fire. He manages to heal his own burns but it drains his energy. Meanwhile, Hunter, Blake and Dustin travel to the Thunder Ninja Academy where they run into trouble. The grumpy Sensei leaves with Circuit to supposedly find a way to send the Power Rangers back to their dimension. Shane and Tori see the Zord emerge from the water and are told to join the others, but Sensei and Cam notice that Tobi has left, streaking off to the Thunder Ninja Academy to help Dustin and the others just as Hunter and Blake's parents enter Ninja Ops...

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 24 (Ghosts from the Past)

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Tobi saw a red and blue streak ahead of him and he knew that he was nearing the location he had seen on Cam's screen before he left Ninja Ops. He landed his streak right beside the two morphed Power Rangers. They were in the middle of a forest filled with gray, dead-looking trees.

"Tobi? What are you doing here?" Shane asked, opening his visor to reveal his surprised face.

"I had to check on Dustin… and Hunter and Blake," Tobi explained as he leaned heavily on his knees to recover.

Tori was the next to open her visor. "Nice outfit," she commented, approaching Tobi. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tobi replied, grimacing a little. "I just accidentally caught myself on fire and then had to heal myself," he explained. "It took a lot out of me."

"Did you just say you caught yourself on fire?" Shane asked, studying him.

"It's a long story," Tobi replied. "The point is, I'm here now."

Tori gave him a surprised look before knocking on a nearby tree. "It's petrified," she noticed. "I think the whole forest is," she added, looking around.

"What's that smell?" Shane asked, closing his visor again while walking forward through the petrified woods.

"It smells like Dustin's room," Tori suggested, following Shane.

"Hey," Tobi protested. "I've been in Dustin's room and it didn't stink."

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Tobi," Tori said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "but you're slightly biased when it comes to anything about Dustin."

"Maybe," he conceded, "but Dustin's not the joke you think he is."

"Sometimes I forget which of us has known him longer," she replied before Shane interrupted them.

"Hey guys, check this out," Shane announced, gesturing toward a geyser that kept shooting off steam in regular intervals. He raised his morpher. "Shane to Cam," he said. "How do we get into he academy?"

There was silence from his morpher. He looked at Tori and she tried hers, also with no response.

"You think something's wrong?" Shane asked.

"Maybe it's because we're too close to the portal's energy?" she suggested.

"But how do we know where it is?" Shane shot back.

"Let me try," Tobi offered, closing his eyes and concentrating. In front of them was a glowing door that kept opening and closing. When he opened his eyes, he was looking right at… "It's the geyser," he told them. "It's a portal that only opens when it's active."

"After you," Tori offered, watching the burning hot steam shoot out of the ground.

"You're the water ninja," Shane suggested before reluctantly giving in. He walked over tot eh geyser and waited for it to become active. The moment the steam erupted from the earth, he stepped forward and vanished din a flash of light.

Tori shrugged before looking at Tobi and following suit. The moment she vanished, Tobi went next.

* * *

A glowing circular portal expanded as the three emerged in front of the Thunder Ninja Academy, a large building that looked like it was straight out of a kung fu movie, complete with crimson and navy banners. As the portal contracted behind them, they spotted the others. Dustin and morphed versions of Hunter and Blake were fighting against a circle of ninjas in black surrounding them.

Shane and Tori immediately jumped high into the air and landed beside their friends. Tobi backed up to get a running start before jumping toward the others. His jump was too short, though, and he ended up landing on one of the surrounding ninja students' shoulders. He tumbled off until he ended up in the circle with the other rangers.

"You don't need to tell us we shouldn't have gone off alone," Blake said, kicking at the surrounding ninjas while Dustin helped Tobi up.

"Thanks," Tobi said, getting to his feet. He noticed that Dustin was now also in his ninja training outfit.

"No prob," Dustin said with a grin before crossing his arms and pointing his fingers. "Awesome outfit," he commented before vanishing into the ground and burrowing beneath the surrounding ninjas, knocking them over with his movement.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Blake were using their weapons and an occasional blast of electricity.

"Where's your parents?" Shane asked, using his Hawk Blaster on some of what must have been at least fifty thunder ninja students and their sensei.

"We don't know," Hunter replied, gesturing toward the older man with a funny hat who was obviously a sensei. "Sensei Omino thinks we stole some sort of amulets from the academy," he explained while dodging a lightning attack from three students combining their energy.

"He won't believe it wasn't us," Blake added, taking out a ninja that was jumping toward his brother.

"I guess thunder ninjas just naturally have thick heads," Tori offered, jumping from one student's head to another, knocking them back. "So, I take it your parents aren't here."

"I guess it was a wasted trip," Blake conceded before being knocked backward by a blast of sparks from his former sensei.

Hunter helped his brother up, kicking at an approaching ninja and knocking her face covering off in the process.

"Leanne?" Blake said, shocked.

"It's nothing personal, sweetheart," Leanne commented, jumping into the air and diving down on the two brothers.

Tori blasted her back with water, glancing at Blake. "Sweetheart?" she asked.

"Don't ask me," he replied.

"Right," she said, attacking Leanne.

At that moment, Dustin jumped out of the ground, but a bunch of students dove into him, knocking him back to the dirt. This time, Tobi pulled him up.

"You guys, duck for a moment!" Tobi yelled, jumping up while concentrating. The others only had a moment to follow his advice before a shock wave exploded out from him, sending the surrounding ninjas flying backward.

"Awesome, TZT!" Dustin congratulated as he landed from his jump and the others stood up.

"Impressive," a voice called from where the three had emerged through the portal. The rangers turned to see two adult ninjas holding Cam hostage. Sensei was sitting on his son's shoulder. "But we would have expected nothing less from our sons' friends," one of the adult ninjas stated.

"Mom? Dad?" Hunter and Blake called, running through the pile of recovering thunder students.

"Don't come any closer," their father warned, "or your friend suffers."

"Just return the amulets and no one gets hurt," their mother added. "Remember, we taught you everything you know."

The brothers stopped in their tracks as the others caught up to them. "But we don't know anything about any amulets," Blake insisted.

"We wouldn't lie to you," Hunter chimed in. "We're your sons. We love you."

Their mother flinched for only a moment. "You've lied to us before," she said. "We taught you that too…"

Sensei Omino stood up, dusting himself off and helping Leanne up. "Only a ninja that has mastered and elemental power can possess the amulet, let alone use it without the user being destroyed. Once she was properly trained, the amulets were meant for my daughter." He looked toward Leanne.

"We don't' blame you for wanting the additional power, especially with the delay in presenting you two with the… gifts we promised," their father added.

"What's so special about these amulets?" Blake asked.

"The Thunder Ninja Academy was charged with keeping the Shade and Sun amulets safe after the Dawn Temple was raided," Sensei Omino explained. "Since the Wind Ninja Academy has not had other students besides your friends for years and it could not have been another of my students…"

"How do you know that for sure?" Tori spoke up.

"Since no aliens can pass through the portal, it must have been a Power Ranger," Sensei Omino explained, "and there are only so many _ninja_ Power Rangers."

"What about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers when they like got ninja powers?" Dustin asked.

The three older ninjas exchanged looks. "They would not know where to find the amulets without help reaching the academy," Sensei Omino explained.

"Last chance," Leanne wanred.

"It wasn't us," Hunter insisted. "We're not even from this dimension."

"He's telling the truth," Dustin chimed in.

"We're sorry about this," Tori whispered to Hunter and Blake before nodding to Shane.

A gust of air hit the brothers' father while a burst of water hit their mother, sending both flying backward.

"Sensei!" Tobi called as the guinea pig jumped off Cam's shoulder just as Cam morphed into the green Samurai Ranger.

Shane and Tori then turned their attentions toward Sensei Omino and his daughter.

"Back to the portal!" Shane yelled as the two Ominos dove for cover and Sensei landed on Tobi's shoulder while Cam joined the other morphed rangers.

"Not so fast!" Sensei Omino said, shooting lightning out of his hands and causing the group to fall to the ground, writhing and twitching in pain.

"Mom, dad," Hunter choked out, fighting to stand despite an array of yellow sparks running up his body. "Gaaaah!" he cried, falling to the ground with the others as another powerful wave of electricity hit the group.

The brothers' mother turned to Sensei Omino as her husband helped her up. "Sensei, is this really necessary?" she asked.

Sensei Omino looked at them with a confused expression. "I know you want to protect your sons, but I am also protecting what is rightfully my daughter's."

"We understand, Sensei," the brothers' father replied, turning to his wise, who nodded before flinching as another blast of electricity hit the rangers.

"It wasn't their fault," a female voice suddenly announced. The others turned weakly, their bodies still twitching, to see a girl around the age of the rangers with tanned skin and long curly black hair appeared out of thin air.

"Who are you?" Sensei Omino asked.

"Skyla?" Shane answered for them, staring in disbelief.

"So, this is Skyla," Tori commented, trying to shake off the pain and lingering tingling.

"She's…" Sensei Omino said, squinting. "…a Karminion. How could she be here?"

"A what?" Leanne asked.

"I took the amulets," Skyla confessed nervously. "I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do and Tommy tricked me to get the Shade Amulet and gain the power of shadows."

"Doctor Oliver," Hunter realized, helping Tori up.

"What happened to the Skyla who was so convinced about our destiny?" Shane asked, helping the others to their feet and approaching Skyla.

"I wish I had that kind of confidence or faith," she replied hesitantly.

"Who did this to you?" Shane asked, taking Skyla's hand.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking down at his hand around hers.

"It's a different dimension and a different Skyla," Tori told Shane quietly.

"Oh, right," he muttered, obviously choking back a strong emotion as he released her hand.

"So, why did you take the amulets?" Blake asked.

"I thought I was supposed to give one of them to someone," she explained. "I'm not really sure. It was just a feeling until now. Now I know who I'm supposed to give this to." She opened her hand and a gold medallion appeared in it.

Shane smiled as she approached him. Even without him saying so, it was obvious how much he cared for her and missed her. At least, the other Skyla…

But she walked past him and stopped in front of Tobi, who stared at her with a surprised expression. "I tried to contact you in your dreams but I couldn't find you, so I didn't know what to do," she confessed. "I felt so lost."

"Because I was in the other dimension," Tobi realized. "But why me?"

"You saved me when you were a child," she explained.

"So, that's all destiny is?" Shane asked, approaching. "If you met someone else back then, everything changes?"

"What do you mean?" Skyla asked, turning to Shane.

He frowned and turned away, a pained look on his face. "Nothing," he mumbled.

"Here," Skyla said, handing Tobi the amulet. "It's the Sun Amulet. It will grant you the power of sunlight."

Tobi's eyes widened as he examined the round, golden object in his hand. It has an engraved image of a sun in its center, curly waves stretching out from the carving. A chain was attached to one end, so he slipped it around his neck. "How do I use it?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, embarrassed. "Maybe you'll figure it out or it will just come naturally like with Tommy."

"Thank you," Tobi told her, placing his hand around the amulet.

"You are not leaving here with the amulet," Sensei Omino warned.

"Why not?" Skyla asked, genuinely confused.

"Skyla," Shane whispered, "you can get us out of here."

"Okay," she agreed and, in a flash, the rangers found themselves and Skyla back in the petrified woods.

"Woah," Hunter said, looking around at the sudden change in surroundings as the others did the same.

"I told you," Dustin said, approaching Tobi, "You shined like the sun."

"You did," Tobi recalled, still unsure what to do with the metal sun around his neck.

"I'll head back to Ninja Ops," Cam said, transferring Sensei from Tobi's shoulder to his own. "We still have an ancient Zord to deal with."

"We'll meet you back there soon," Shane told him.

"Don't be surprised if security is a little tighter when you get back," Cam said, streaking off.

"Skyla, do you… feel _weak_?" Shane asked her hesitantly.

"No, why?" she asked.

"You aren't going to transform into something else?" he suggested.

"I never seem to stay in one form for long," she admitted, "but I don't think I'm going to change right now."

"When you change, you're supposed to give something to… Tobi," he added.

She thought for a moment. "You mean, besides the amulet?" she asked.

"A power of some kind," he explained.

"Okay," she replied. "I'll stick around then. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Shane replied.

"How do you know me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh," he replied. "That's a long story, but let's just say I met another of you… of your kind and she gave me something before she… Well, she didn't _die_. She sort of became like an angel, a glowing light."

"I understand," Skyla replied. "She meant a lot to you?"

Shane straightened up. "I didn't really know her long," he justified, "but she was… special," he admitted. "She was always so certain of everything, like she knew it all ahead of time. She even knew I was a Power Ranger and she said I was her… destiny."

"I'm sorry that she left you," Skyla apologized, "but you have your friends, right?"

"Yeah," Shane agreed, "I do."

"I wish I knew the other Karminion," she said somberly. "I've never had a friend before and you have nine of them."

"Skyla," Shane replied, "you can be our friend." She turned to the others, who nodded.

"I know I'm not good at math, dude, but there aren't nine of us plus you, bro," Dustin pointed out.

Shane looked around and counted in his head before turning back to Skyla. "Those dudes we were fighting weren't our friends. There's just the… six of us here, counting me, and then Cam and our Sensei who left," he counted. "We have other friends, but you haven't met them yet."

"What about those two?" she asked, gesturing toward Blake and Hunter.

"I already counted them," he replied. "Blake and Hunter."

"And the other two?" she asked. "the ones behind them. The ones floating?"

"Floating?" Shane asked, tuning to look at the thunder rangers who, hearing this, looked over their shoulders.

"What do you see?" Shane asked slowly.

"A man and a woman," she explained. "They look like the two back there but they're in white and a little see-through."

"Our parents," Blake realized.

"They're here?" Hunter asked, turning around abruptly.

"You can't see them?" she asked the others.

"No, we can't," Tori answered for the others.

"Dude, you can see dead people?" Dustin asked.

"Your parents are ghosts and they followed you from the other dimension?" Tobi asked.

"They were spirits," Hunter replied, studying the empty air through squinted eyes.

"Can you talk to them?" Blake asked, turning to Skyla.

"Hello?" she offered. After a moment, she addressed the others, "They said they've never left your sides and…" she paused, listening, "they love you."

"I love you too," Hunter said to the air. "Can they hear me?"

"Yes, they hear you," Skyla replied.

The two brothers continued to look at the empty air until their morphers beeped.

"Go for Shane," Shane answered his first.

"I almost have the Zords ready," Cam's voice came on. "Our ancient Zord friend is currently stomping through the city and I need you guys to at least keep people out of its way until I'm ready."

"Right," Shane agreed. "Let's go."

"We can't leave them," Hunter said, still looking for something invisible hidden in the sulfur tinted air.

Tori walked up to the two brothers. "They're always with you, remember?" she reminded them.

"You're right, Tor," Hunter said, turning to her. They both had their visors open and something in his eyes made her hug him.

"Hey, do I get a hug?" Blake asked.

"There's always Tobi," Tori offered. "He kisses better than me. Maybe he hugs better too."

Blake frowned and Tori shrugged before giving him a hug.

Meanwhile, Shane put his hands on each of Skyla's arms. "We'll be back," he told her.

"That confident Karminion, you liked her a lot," Skyla commented before straitening her posture. "I'll find you." She grinned before vanishing.

Shane looked between his now empty hands, from where Skyla had been back to the others and nodded for them to follow.

* * *

The five rangers and Tobi streaked to a stop beneath a massive black and silver Dragon Zord. "Crowd control," Shane reminded them as they spread out in front of the stomping Zord.

Tori pulled out her Sonic Fin, which served the dual purpose of a megaphone and a wave of energy pushing humans, aliens and kelzacks back. "Stay out of the path of the Zord," she shouted. "It seems to be heading up Market Street toward the Blue Bay Harbor Shopping Plaza."

"If it doesn't change its mind," Blake offered to Tori.

"What's wrong?" Hunter asked Tobi, who was just standing, staring at the Zord and the chaos around it. "Tobi!" he yelled, shaking him. He had a horrified look in his eyes.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Tobi said, shaking his head. "I was just… remembering." He blinked hard. "I'm okay now."

Hunter opened his visor to give him a skeptical look. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Tobi gulped. "Go! They need you," he insisted.

Hunter gave him one last look before joining his brother.

Tobi looked around at the tall Zord above him down to the screaming people below it. It was exactly like before. But… no… it wasn't He had been helpless then and Tori had to save him, choosing to help him even though it ultimately meant their mother ended up dying. This time, he wasn't helpless. He could help and he would help.

Meanwhile, Dustin ran into a nearby coffee shop where everyone seemed to be on their cell phones and lap tops, apparently oblivious to the approaching Zord. "There's a freaking _huge_ dragon about to stomp this place!" he yelled.

The crowed seemed to ignore him, causing him to frown. Then someone near a window stood up suddenly. "There are Power Rangers coming!" he shouted.

The rest of the customers immediately gathered around the window before screaming and running for the exit.

As everyone ran past him and out the doors, Dustin dusted off his hands. "Dude, that was easy."

Outside, the Dragon Zord knocked a chunk off a tall building. Hunter and Blake streaked over to get a mother and her child out of the way just as the chunk of roof crashed onto the sidewalk and a parked car, smashing both.

The mom screamed, "Power Rangers!" and clutched her child close to her chest as she ran away quickly.

"Don't everybody thank us at once," Blake commented, moving on to help a couple out of a car that had become stuck in an unmoving traffic jam.

"Heads up!" Shane yelled as the Dragon Zord's tail swung forward, drilling through the coffee shop that Dustin had just evacuated.

Tobi had just helped a family of clockwork aliens out of the next building over when the destruction destabilized the entire building and it began to tilt forward.

Blake and Hunter had streaked to the building's roof, where some people and aliens had fled during the attack. They streaked them from one roof to another as the building tilted further, its support beams snapping.

Meanwhile, Shane was helping Tori rescue a couple kelzacks that had been trapped under falling debris.

Tobi looked over to see Dustin rescuing a small dog that was left tied to a fire hydrant directly in front of the falling building. Not being morphed, he knew Dustin would be crushed. Tobi only had enough time to streak over to Dustin and move them a short distance before he knew they weren't going to make it. So, concentrating, he created a continuous wave of energy around them as the entire building smashed all around. Giant chunks of wall and upper floors tumbled into a large mess in the street, smoke rising from the destruction.

"TZT, dude, you can let go now," Dustin told him.

Tobi hadn't realized how tightly he had been holding Dustin to him until he released his grip, the force of energy he had been projecting facing. With it gone, smoke from the rubble immediately flew into their untouched circle.

"That was awesome, dude!" Dustin told him, grabbing his arms.

Tobi started to lean up toward Dustin's smiling face as their eyes met and he felt his own face flush.

"Thanks," Dustin continued, producing a small brown haired dog, "and this little dude thanks you too!"

"No problem," Tobi mumbled, lowering himself.

"Guys, I'm sending you the Hawk Zord, Dolphin Zord and Lion Zord," Cam's voice came from Dustin's morpher. "I don't have the Megazord sequenced yet, but I'm hoping three on one will give you guys an advantage."

Dustin and Tobi ran over to Shane and Tori as the four spotted a giant red hawk flying toward them. It was followed by a blue dolphin and huge yellow lion. The three Power Rangers, only two morphed, nodded at each other before jumping high into the air and landing in their respective Zords. The animal Zords immediately began attacking the black Dragon Zord.

Meanwhile, Tobi went to find Hunter and Blake. After some searching, he spotted them crawling their way out of rubble near where the coffee shop had been. "Are you guys okay?" he asked, running over to them.

"We're, ugh, fine," Hunter grunted, lifting a piece of roof off himself. Had he not been morphed, he would have been crushed.

"The force from that building falling must have pulled this one down too," Blake commented, dusting himself off and helping his brother up.

Tobi looked around at the buildings surrounding the coffee shop's rubble and saw that they had all been destroyed in a perfect circle around where he and Dustin had stood. "Uh, that's probably my fault," Tobi confessed, adding, "Hey, the others are in their Zords taking on the Dragon Zord. We should make sure everyone's out of the way."

"Right!" the brothers agreed, running out into the rubble covered street and looking up at the three animal Zords take on the single Dragon Zord. The three Zords seemed to be managing to at least keep the Dragon Zord in one spot as they fought it. That was definitely progress.

"This ends here!" a voice shouted from behind the brothers and Tobi. They turned to see Mayor Lothor and his allies.

"The Power Rangers are helping!" Tobi yelled back.

One of the aliens fired at the three. "I don't think they're convinced," Hunter commented as they dodged the blast.

Smash! Suddenly Tori's Dolphin Zord was thrown by the Dragon Zord against a nearby building, where it completely obliterated the structure, sending chunks of walls flying everywhere. Before Lothor and his allies could react, Hunter and Blake had caught a falling side of a nearby building before it crushed the mayor and his allies.

Just then, a series of black and gold helicopters flew in, dropping members of the Golden Guardians from ropes. "We'll take it from here," Frax said, dropping to the ground.

"This is my town," Mayor Lothor pointed out, "but I do appreciate the help." Shimazu ran up to Lothor and handed him an old fashioned looking phone. "Yes?" he asked the phone. "Mr. President! Of course." He paused, a surprised look forming on his face. "Thank you, Mr. President." He then hung up. "It seems we may not even need your help after all."

While the Dolphin Zord rejoined the fight and Hunter and Blake threw the debris out of the way of Lothor and the Golden Guardians, the ground shook like something big was stomping its way closer.

"It figures," Hunter commented as the three looked up to see a giant monster with large teeth and long claws approaching.

"So, whose side is it on?" Blake asked.

"It's just going to attack all the Zords," Tobi answered. "The president must have authorized the use of Project Alien Enlargement."

"Project Alien Enlargement?" Blake repeated.

"It's how the Zords were defeated before," Tobi explained. "An alien with mutant DNA can be made to grow big enough to take on the Zords while keeping the powers many aliens naturally possess."

"Then we're toast," Hunter said, raising his morpher. "Shane, Dustin and Tori," he said. "Big and nasty wants your Zords scrap metal, but he's not that particular. Try to keep the Dragon Zord between you and the monster."

"Good idea," Shane's voice told him through his morpher.

"Hunter to Cam," he called, keeping his arm raised. "Any word on our Zords?"

"The other dimension's Dustin wasn't working on your Zords," Cam's voice replied, "but since you two got them from your Sensei, I'm guessing he still has them. And, you don't need to tell me to hurry up with the Megazord configuration. Dustin and Shane have done that enough and I'm still working on it."

"We know you're doing your best," Hunter offered.

"Thanks," Cam replied, surprise in his voice.

"Don't look now, bro, but we're in trouble," Blake said, getting his brother's attention. The three looked around to see that they were now surrounded by the combined forces of Lothor and the Golden Guardians.

"Surrender or be destroyed," Frax stated bluntly.

Tobi noticed that Marah and Kapri were among those helping the mayor. The look in Marah's eyes appeared to be a mixture of hurt and anger, a dangerous combination.

Just then, the enlarged monster stumbled backward, grabbing at a nearby building for support and causing it to crumble under his weight. Hunter and Blake were quick to blast the larger pieces of falling building with lightning, causing them to explode into harmless powder. This gave Tobi an idea and he focused on burning the remaining chunks of collapsing building. They exploded into black ash and he was forced to look away as soot ended up hitting his face.

The surrounding humans, aliens and kelzacks were quick to wipe themselves off and point their weapons at Hunter, Blake and Tobi.

"Come on!" Blake insisted. "We're trying to help here!"

"This is your last chance to surrender," Frax stated.

"We're trying to stop the Dragon Zord," Tobi chimed in. "We're on the same side here."

"They could be telling the truth," Eric offered from the crowd of Golden Guardians.

"You're too trusting, Eric," Wes warned.

Scratch! The crowd looked up to see the monster's large claws tear into the Lion Zord while it sent the massive yellow Zord tumbling end over end.

"Look out!" Kapri yelled as the spinning Zord smashed through the surrounding buildings straight for them.

Tobi only had enough time to raise his hands and focus all his energy on pushing the oversized Lion Zord away. He grunted as he only managed to hold it in the air. This gave the others a chance to run, but not for long. The wave of energy collapsed, throwing Tobi backward and allowing Dustin's Lion Zord to crash into the street.

"Thanks, TZT," Dustin's voice came from Tobi's communicator before the Lion Zord rolled back toward the battle.

"Eric!" a voice yelled and the others looked over to see that a couple humans and a few kelzacks had been caught by flying debris. While Hunter and Blake ran to help where they could, Tobi approached Wes.

"Stay back!" Wes growled, raising his laser pistol and pointing it at Tobi.

"I'm here to help," Tobi insisted, raising his arms.

Wes frowned, but agreed. "Alright, but I'm warning you," he said as Tobi reached for the chunk of debris covering Eric and it burned into ash under his touch.

"Eric," Wes gasped out, seeing that the other Golden Guardian wasn't moving.

"Wes?" Eric grunted in pain.

"Where does it hurt?" Wes asked.

"I think I broke my leg," Eric said painfully. "I can't walk."

"I'll help you and…" Wes paused. "Eric, I'm sorry. I… You mean…" He held Eric to him, still at a loss for words.

"I know," Eric said, forcing a smile before grunting in pain. "I'll have to dye my hair green sometime so I don't need to be hurt for you to—" He gasped in severe pain as he tried to move his leg.

Tobi looked down at the two and knew what he had to do. "Here," he said, kneeling and reaching for Eric's broken leg.

"What are you doing?" Wes snapped.

"Let him do his thing," Eric whispered, placing a hand on Wes' face to calm him.

Tobi focused on the bones and tried to figure out how to set them properly when a glowing flame blocked his view of the injury.

Eric cried out for a moment.

"Stop it!" Wes yelled.

It was too late. The process had begun. After a moment, Eric moved his leg around. Reaching down, he felt for an injury before having Wes help him up.

"How did you…?" Wes asked in disbelief.

"Nevermind, just get out of here," Tobi said, falling to his hands and knees in exhaustion. At least he hadn't passed out.

He reached for the amulet around his neck and held it. It immediately began to glow and he felt his strength returning. He stood up and walked over to Hunter and Blake, who were arguing with Mayor Lothor.

"Can't you see we're helping?" Hunter insisted.

When Tobi approached, Marah pointed to him. "He's with the Power Rangers too," she accused.

"These Power Rangers are from a different dimension and are here to help," Tobi explained. "Right now, the Power Rangers from this dimension are back in theirs probably destroying things there. Over there, Lothor is an evil space ninja and the Power Rangers—_these _Power Rangers are good. I mean, right now, they could be trying to get back to their dimension to save it, but instead they're helping because they can… Because they care. Dustin would never hurt or use you, Marah," he told her. "He cares about you."

"Hey, it like makes sense to me," Kapri offered, "the whole opposite dimension thing. You think we're evil there?"

Marah frowned, looking lost in thought.

"That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," Lothor stated.

"Well, we tried," Blake told Tobi.

"Marah!' a kid's voice called. She looked over to see Geo running up to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"I followed you and Kapri," he replied, stopping in front of her.

"You shouldn't be here," she scolded.

Suddenly a loud mechanical whine filled the air. The others looked up to see the black Dragon Zord suddenly stopping in place, its lights turning off.

Hunter raised his morpher. "Hunter to Cam. What happened? The Zord just stopped."

"I'm getting zero energy output from it," Cam's voice replied. "It's like it just ran out of power."

Just then, four figures hopped out of the top of the Dragon Zord's head. Dr. Oliver stood in the center with Kimberly and Billy on one side and a red, yellow and gold robot that must have been Alpha 6 on the other. "It appears we will have to finish this later," Dr. Oliver stated, turning to smoke and circling the Zord.

A streak of black swirled around the Zord faster and faster until… Poof! The entire Zord and its four occupants vanished into thin air.

This left just Shane, Tori and Dustin's Zords versus the giant alien.

"Call off your big ugly monster," Blake told Lothor. "We don't' want to fight you."

"I can't do that," Lothor told him as the monster continued to strike at the three Zords.

"This doesn't have to go this way," Tobi told Marah specifically. "If you believe in destiny and fate and all that, you have to believe that the Power Rangers are good."

"Dustin's friends are Power Rangers," Geo offered. "So they're not bad guys."

"I'm recalling the Zords," Cam's voice came from Hunter and Blake's morphers. "Everyone return to Ninja Ops to regroup."

"Understood," Shane's voice answered before the Zords retreated.

"That's our cue," Tobi told the others before saying one last thing to Marah. "You don't have to trust us. Trust Dustin."

"You three aren't going—" Lothor began, but they just streaked away in a blur.

Marah watched them go, furrowing her brown in concentration.

_**

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To be continued...

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_**Author's Notes:**__ So, no one died! The poll is too close, so… And, I wonder where I got the idea of the Sun from? Anyway, let me know what you think about this chapter and what you'd like to see in future chapters! __**Remember, you can review anonymously! Just click "Review This Chapter!" **__Thanks!_


	25. Heroes From Another Dimension

**ATTENTION!****: ****How do you feel about having a character **_**die**_** in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm?"**** Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). If it remains a tie between somewhat open and somewhat against, I reserve the right to override the tie and KILL a character! Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.**

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_Author's Notes: _**_I decided to lighten up the mood of the first half of this chapter because things have been a lot more serious lately. So, some fluff and exploration of Tobi's dimension, some drama and then some action. Oh, and we finally meet Goldwinger. **If you are re-reading this chapter, I made parts of the fight scene clearer.**  
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_Short review responses this time since I think the story would answer most of my comments (and it's going to take a while to type it all up since this chapter's very long):_

_Thanks _**Ghostwriter** _for keeping up with the chapters and for the encouragement!_

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess **_for the compliments and this chapter will answer your question about if Marah forgives Dustin (and I threw another "Poor Blake" moment)!_

_Thanks _**Magichalo **_for all your suggestions that I always take into consideration, including the Sun (from your review to ch. 21), counter element and Tobi controlling a Zord!_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi joins the rangers at the Thunder Ninja Academy, where they are attacked by Sensei Omino, Leanne and Hunter and Blake's parents, all of whom think that the rangers stole some amulets. Skyla appears and says she took them and that Tommy tricked her into giving him the Shade Amulet. She then gives Tobi the Sun Amulet, but neither knows how to use it. Later, Skyla says she can see the spirits of Hunter and Blake's dead parents. Then, the rangers have to stop a black Dragon Zord from destroying the city. Shane, Tori and Dustin use their Zords to attack the Dragon Zord while Lothor and the Golden Guardians go after Hunter, Blake and Tobi. When a monster is enlarged to stop the Zords, the thunder rangers and Tobi help save Lothor and the Golden Guardians. Then then the Dragon Zord runs out of power and Dr. Oliver emerges and makes it disappear. The others have no choice but to retreat since Lothor refuses to believe they're there to help. Meanwhile, Marah wonders if the Power Rangers really are evil...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 25 (Heroes From Another Dimension)

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"Dude, what does it mean 'access denied'?" Dustin asked, standing outside Ninja Ops.

"Dustin, what are you doing?" came Cam's voice from a small monitor next to the sealed door in front of Dustin.

Dustin put a hand to his forehead. "Dude, I'm just trying to get in."

"And who have you brought with you?" Cam asked, his face appearing on the monitor.

"Oh, hey, dude," Dustin greeted the screen, holding up a small brown dog and smiling. "He was lost and like all alone and I rescued him."

"Congratulations," Cam said unenthusiastically. "That's what pet shelters are for."

"Aw, but Cam!" Dustin protested.

"Ah, now I see it," Cam commented.

"Yeah, isn't he cute?" Dustin cooed. "I mean… like in a manly kinda way. At least, I think it's a guy." He lifted the dog, holding it above his head and studying it.

"What I see is why you make that face anytime you want something," Cam corrected. "But, Dustin, the puppy dog eyes only work if you're a dog."

"Dude, it's a girl!" Dustin interrupted, studying the dog. "Yep, definitely a girl."

"Dustin," Cam said with a sigh. "Fine, just come in."

The door in front of Dustin opened and he bounded happily down into Ninja Ops.

"What's up with all the extra security, Cam?" Tori asked before Dustin could.

"After Hunter and Blake's parents paid me an unexpected visit, I thought it was necessary to have everyone scanned before entering Ninja Ops," Cam explained.

"Hey, it makes sense," Shane offered just as Hunter, Blake and Tobi arrived and entered the room.

"Making us go through one at a time is a bit much, Cam," Blake said upon entering.

Suddenly Dustin's outfit barked.

"Dude, did you just bark?" Shane asked, leaning over Dustin's shoulder.

Dustin sheepishly pulled out the small brown dog and smiled. "Cam said it was cool if I kept her and she can stay here and be like our ninja dog!"

"I only said that I wasn't going to leave you outside because you picked up a stray," Cam corrected.

"So, which one's the stray?" Hunter laughed.

"Aww," Tori cooed, grabbing the dog and making faces at it. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"

"She's a girl," Dustin said, taking the dog from Tori before it could lick her face.

"Let me guess," Hunter suggested, "a friend for Sensei."

"My father is a guinea pig, not a chew toy," Cam chimed in.

"Well, I think she's cute," Tobi offered, petting the dog. "And now Tori's not the only girl. Oh, and she's got your hair and eyes, Dustin."

"Maybe they're related," Blake suggested. "They're both probably just as clean."

"Ha ha," Tori said humorlessly. "Dustin, maybe she belongs to someone who's looking for her?"

Dustin clutched the dog tighter to his chest. "But I didn't even get to name her yet," he protested.

"Tori's right," Tobi told Dustin, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Cam," Tori addressed, "do you think you can help make a flyer to put up around town?"

"I suppose," Cam agreed, "but who do we have them call?"

"Good point," she realized.

"Maybe we should take her to the park," Hunter suggested. "A lot of people walk their dogs in the park. That's where someone might go if they were looking for their dog."

"Do what you want with the dog," Cam agreed. "I still haven't tracked down where our mysterious Dragon Zord disappeared to, but I have a fix on Circuit and the other Sensei's location and I'm going to go check it out. Since I don't have Cyber Cam, though, I'll need a volunteer to stay in Ninja Ops."

"What about Sensei?" Shane asked.

"One, it's his nap time and two, I don't want to leave my father here alone," Cam explained.

"I'll stay, Cam," Tori immediately volunteered.

"Thanks, Tori," Cam replied. "I can always count on you." He smiled and blushed ever so slightly.

"I'll stay too," Blake chimed in.

"I guess that means the rest of us are leaving then," Hunter concluded before walking up to the two. "Bro, behave yourself," he told Blake. "And, Tor, if he tries anything, you have my permission to hit him."

"Hey!" Blake protested.

"All's fair in love and war," Hunter said with a shrug.

"Call me if anything changes on the screen," Cam told Tori and Blake. "And don't press anything, even by accident."

"What do you think we're going to be doing here, Cam?" Tori asked.

Cam cringed. "I just meant if you had to hit Blake, I'd understand," he said. "Just don't do it around the computer. Thanks, Tori." He smiled and turned in his tracks. "Oh, and… thanks, Blake."

"You're welcome," Blake said sarcastically.

"Feeling unappreciated?" Tobi asked.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," Blake said hesitantly.

Tobi frowned. "I wasn't going to kiss you," he told him. "Besides, I thought you liked it."

"He did," Tori answered for him.

Blake became flustered as Tobi put a hand on his shoulder. "My sister likes you a lot," he told him. "Don't hurt her again… or you'll regret it."

Tori shook her head. "I _can_ take care of myself," she reminded him, "but I guess it's nice everyone cares."

Blake pouted, so Tobi gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Better?" he asked. Blake just blushed and gave Tori a panicked look.

Tori had a smile on her face. "Like your brother said, all's fair in love and war," she reminded Blake.

Tobi stepped over to Dustin, who was trying to come up with a name for the dog. "It has to be something cool because she's our mascot," Dustin explained.

"Our mascot?" Shane repeated.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "Every Power Ranger team needs a mascot."

"I thought Sensei was our mascot," Hunter offered.

"Dude, don't let Sensei hear you say that," Shane warned with a grin.

"We're still a team, right?" Dustin asked.

"Of course, bro," Shane assured him. "Why'd you ask?"

"Because I'm not a Power Ranger anymore and…" Dustin began to explain.

"You'll always be a part of the team, Dustin," Shane assured him, putting an arm around Dustin's shoulders.

"Didn't Sensei say you're the heart of the team?" Hunter added.

"Thanks, guys," Dustin said with a grin. "Hey, anyone have a Frisbee?"

"Wait up, Cam," Tobi called, seeing Cam start to leave. "I'll come with you. I have… some place I want to stop by."

"Sure," Cam agreed. "It will give me a chance to examine that amulet of yours too."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Bye, Dustin! I'll meet you at the park later. Have fun!"

"We will!" Dustin agreed, lifting one of the dog's paws and waving it in the air toward Tobi and Cam.

* * *

"Cam, can we stop by a little place along the way?" Tobi asked as they entered the city.

"I suppose so," Cam agreed. "What are you up to?"

"I'm not 'up to' anything," Tobi disagreed. "I just had an idea for a gift for Dustin."

"A gift?" Cam repeated. "What's the occasion?"

"Just because," Tobi answered.

"Oh," Cam replied. "One of _those_ gifts." He couldn't help but grin as he shook his head.

"I just want him to feel appreciated," Tobi clarified.

"Of course," Cam agreed as the two stopped off at a small shop with a sign outside that consisted of a moving sewing wheel.

"Hello and welcome to Madame Pinweeble's Custom Fashion," a large spider-like alien greeted them. Her body seemed to be part sewing wheel and her various arms were hard at work sewing various outfits.

"Hi," Tobi greeted. "I want to make a costume for a friend of mine."

"Ah, tell Madame Pinweeble about this costume," the alien suggested.

"Well, I was thinking full body spandex," Tobi explained, "all yellow, with a logo that has the letters A and D and then an exclamation mark. Oh, and a cape with the same logo."

"Very nice," the alien commented. "Madame Pinweeble is seeing it now. What are your friend's measurements?"

Tobi turned to Cam. "Why would I know?" Cam asked.

"Because you designed Cyber Dustin," Tobi explained.

"It was based on a body scan," Cam explained.

"Couldn't you… guess?" Tobi pleaded.

"Oh, alright," Cam agreed. The alien handed him a pen and paper with one of her free arms and he started writing down measurements. He then handed the paper and pencil back to the alien, who studied it.

"For measurements and labor, fifty dollars," she calculated.

Tobi looked through his cash and frowned. "I only have eight dollars left. What can I get for that?"

"Madame Pinweeble can do the cape and maybe a mask for that amount," she offered.

Tobi thought for a moment before an idea occurred to him. "How about two capes?" he asked.

"Maybe if one is very small," she concluded.

"That's just what I had in mind," Tobi said with a smile.

"Will this help?" Cam asked, producing a wad of alien money. "I found it when I was going through the other Dustin's closet."

"Perfect!" Tobi declared, taking some of the money. "Here," he said, giving the alien the cash. "Now can I get the whole costume? Oh, and I still want the little cape with the same log."

"Your costume will be ready in thirty minutes," the alien stated, taking the money. "You can wait or come back."

"We'll come back," Tobi told her, turning to leave with Cam, who had a confused look on his face.

"And, now, since you have money, let's get something to eat," Tobi suggested. "I'm starving!"

"Um, I'm not sure about the food around here," Cam said hesitantly.

"Don't worry, I know a good place," Tobi offered.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two were seated in an ice cream shop. Tobi was eating pizza ice cream with the works while Cam had chosen a single scoop of vanilla.

"So, you recharged your energy when you held it?" Cam asked, studying the Sun Amulet in his hands.

"Yeah, it glowed for a moment," Tobi explained, digging into a layer of tomato ice cream below the cheese.

"It might be an energy source of some kind," Cam theorized.

"But, if Doctor Oliver does have the Shade Amulet, how come he can do all kinds of stuff with his amulet like turn into smoke and I can't?" Tobi asked.

"I don't know," Cam confessed. "Maybe he was able to bond with it because he uses to be a Power Ranger that drew his power from an elemental power source in a similar fashion."

"Oh," Tobi replied, frowning.

"At least it hasn't killed you," Cam suggested, handing Tobi back the amulet. "Sensei Omino said it could destroy someone if used incorrectly."

"I guess that's a good point," Tobi agreed, returning the amulet to his neck. "So, you think my element is sun instead of fire?"

"Sun if both fire and light," Cam pointed out, "but you're saying your element is sunlight and you just happened to be given a Sun Amulet? I thought you didn't believe in destiny."

"I'm just saying…" Tobi mumbled. "But, then, if Doctor Oliver tricked Skyla for the Shade Amulet, then who was it meant for? Was it really meant for Leanne Omino?"

"Do you really expect me to know the answer to that?" Cam asked, making a funny face as he tasted his ice cream.

"What, you don't know everything?" Tobi asked with a grin.

Cam rolled his eyes. "On another topic," he said, "I was wondering what kind of milk is used to make the ice cream."

"Oh, that's why I came here," Tobi assured him. "They only use human milk here, no aliens."

"Did you say… human milk?" Cam asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, I promise," Tobi replied.

"Human milk, as in from women's… breasts?" Cam asked.

"Uh, yeah, that's how it works," Tobi said. "Oh, I get it. Straight guys and boobs." He made a face. "I'll never understand that."

Cam stared at his melting scoop of ice cream skeptically. "So, now I'm curious," he began. "What are burgers made out of?"

"It depends on the burger place," Tobi explained. "Some places use grains. Some only use vegetables." He made a face. "Some use soy or wheat gluten."

"What about meat?" Cam asked.

"What do you mean?" Tobi replied.

"You know, what _animals_ are used to make the meat?" Cam clarified.

"Animals?" Tobi repeated. "You don't mean… in the other dimension, you eat animals?"

"So everyone here's a vegetarian?" Cam asked.

"That means that when we went to McDonalds, that burger…" Tobi made a horrified face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Maybe it's the food," Cam suggested, gesturing toward the M&Ms and vegetarian peperoni.

"They'd never kill and cook animals here," Tobi defended, still making a face.

"Uh, so, how long have there been aliens on Earth?" Cam asked, trying to change the subject.

"Since all of history, I guess," Tobi answered, now mixing his ice cream around with his spoon, but not eating it. "They helped build the pyramids in Egypt thousands of years ago."

"There are actually some people who believe the same thing back in our dimension" Cam replied, watching Tobi's face contort. "So, are we ready to go look for Circuit and the other Sensei?"

"Yeah, I guess I lost my appetite," Tobi agreed. "Eating animals! Gah!" His eyes widened. "You don't think Dustin is going to eat the dog, do you?"

"I really wish I never brought this up," Cam groaned.

* * *

A short time later, the two approached a large, rundown shack with a barely legible sign that read, "Gold Wing Comics."

"I expected something… different based on Dustin's description of some mass producing comic book giant," Tobi commented.

"Maybe comics are more profitable in the other dimension," Cam suggested, knocking on a door that looked ready to fall off its hinges.

The door swung open and a human wearing punk attire and a dog collar glanced up and down at them. "What do you want?" he asked impatiently.

Cam squinted. "Perry?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Perry replied.

"You were the one who created Motodrone," Cam realized.

"Motowhat?" Perry snapped. "I don't know what the f*! you're talking about."

"What did you just say?" Cam asked.

"I said, I don't know what the f#%$ you're talking about," he repeated.

Cam and Tobi exchanged looks.

"You'll have to excuse Periwinkle here," a voice said a large gold moth alien pushed him aside. "Now, run along and check on the binding machine. It's been acting up again."

Perry grumbled something unintelligible before shuffling off.

"That boy has quite a mouth on him, so I had no choice but to modify his collar with an anti-profanity filter," the alien told Cam and Tobi. "Of course, with a butt like his, I think I'm going to have to equip myself with my own anti-profanity filter!"

"Goldwinger," Cam noticed.

"That's me!" Goldwinger declared happily. "Have we met before? You'd think I'd remember such handsome gentlemen as you two."

"Uh, right," Cam said, glancing nervously toward Tobi.

"Oh, I'm being so rude!" Goldwinger suddenly declared. "Please come in!"

"Uh, thanks," Cam replied, entering with Tobi. The inside of the building looked like an abandoned factory except for the fact that a series of machines connected by some kind of long assembly line was running, printing and sorting what must have been comics.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Goldwinger offered. "Take a load off. Take your clothes off if you want. I don't mind!"

"Uh, no thanks," Tobi said. "Did you happen to see a robot owl and a talking guinea pig?"

"Ah, yes," Goldwinger replied. "Not the kind of thing you forget, you know?"

"Yes, we know," Cam agreed. "So, where are they?"

"Are they friends of yours?" Goldwinger asked intensely, "because they stole… something of great value from me and I do need it back. "So, maybe you'd be so kind as to track those two adorable little thieves down?"

"Sure," Tobi agreed, looking at Cam.

"Can we ask what they stole?" Cam asked.

"Of course you can!" Goldwinger replied.

Cam waited.

"You can ask," Goldwinger clarified, "but it's a trade secret, you know?"

"Won't we end up finding out anyway when we find the two who stole it?" Tobi pointed out.

"Oh," Goldwinger realized. "You're right." He paced back and forth for a moment. "Alright, it's a Zord."

"You have a Zord!" Tobi declared.

"It's a harmless little thing," Goldwinger explained, waving his hand dismissively.

"And why would Sensei—the guinea pig—steal it?" Cam asked.

"Well… it does things," Goldwinger replied. "You know, a little gold dust here, a little fairy magic there…"

The two stared at him blankly.

"It can travel between dimensions," Goldwinger finally admitted.

Cam and Tobi's eyes widened.

"I know what you're thinking," Goldwinger continued, "but there are other dimensions… Well, at least one other. I remember when I first emerged from my golden cocoon and accidently discovered that I could travel between dimensions… Ah, the memories!"

"In the… other dimension, are the Power Rangers… good?" Cam asked.

Goldwinger spun in his tracks to look at Cam. "Yes, they are. Ah, it's the comics that gave it away, isn't it?"

"Sort of," Tobi agreed. "Why do you make comics about another dimension and then sell them there?"

"It's a long and tragic story," Goldwinger said with a sigh.

"Then we'll just go find our friends," Cam said, backing off.

"No," Tobi interrupted, stopping Cam. "We want to hear it."

Cam offered Tobi a raised eyebrow.

"Alright," Goldwinger agreed. "Follow me." He led them into a room filled with tv screens, only some of which were showing something. Some had Zord battles, some Power Ranger fights and others just random street footage. "You know, I would be more comfortable if you two were at least shirtless," he suggested. "If would help me relax, you know?"

Cam frowned and looked at Tobi.

"If it makes him comfortable," Tobi told Cam, removing his training gear and then shirt.

Goldwinger looked at Cam.

"I'll keep my clothes on, if that's alright," Cam said coldly.

"Hrmph," Goldwinger mumbled. "You know, I often wished I could make love dust instead. I could make you two fall in love and—"

"Just get on with the story," Cam told him.

"Fine, fine," Goldwinger conceded. "Well, a long time ago, I was part of project Zord vs. Zord."

"Zord vs. Zord?" Cam asked.

"Before making aliens grow, they tried Zords against the Power Rangers' Zords," Tobi explained.

"Exactly," Goldwinger agreed, "but when the project was scrapped, I found myself out of work. And it's not like Zord-making was a useful skill in the job market, you know?"

The two just nodded.

"Then an idea came to me to make Zords for the Power Rangers in the other dimension," Goldwinger continued. "But the Power Rangers thought I was some kind of a monster and tried to kill me. I must say, I was a little hurt by this. You don't think I'm scary looking, do you?"

"Uh, no," Tobi offered as Cam kept quiet.

"Thank you," Goldwinger cooed happily. "You're such a dear! So, anyway, I stumped onto comic book making after I saw human children dressed as Power Rangers and realized how popular comics of their adventures would be. I always fancied myself an artist, you know, and so I was off and running. I collect a bunch of footage using mini optical transmitting holograms and sort through it all."

"Mini what?" Cam asked.

"MOTHs," Goldwinger clarified. "Tiny flying creatures. You've probably noticed them before. Though, only some are my wee ones, you know?"

Cam and Tobi just exchanged looks.

"So, anyway, I'm about a year behind, meaning I'm working on Wild Force, but have been collecting footage for what I think I'll call Power Rangers Ninja Force."

The two stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know," Goldwinger relented. "I was thinking the same thing, Time Force, Wild Force… My other idea was Power Rangers Ninja Storm. I got the idea based on what they say when they morph."

"So, you've seen us—them morph?" Cam asked. "You know the identities of all the Power Rangers?"

"Not all of them," Goldwinger conceded. "I'm still trying to learn more about the mysterious green ranger."

Cam and Tobi exchanged another look.

"But I mostly pay attention to what they do as Power Rangers," he continued, sighing. "It's too bad my audience is children because, personally, I love all the relationship issues the Power Rangers have."

"Right," Cam and Tobi agreed, blinking.

"But, of course, I can't sell the comics here," Goldwinger continued, "and yet I can't spend the money I make selling them in the other dimension here because they use weird money, so I'm forced to trade for parts there and sell them here. It's not terribly profitable, as you can tell." He gestured around. "Most of these screens were payment."

"Why not just move to the other dimension, then?" Tobi asked.

"And have the Power Rangers try to kill me again?" Goldwinger protested. "I think not!"

"We understand," Cam agreed. "So, you can travel between dimensions whenever you want?"

"Yes I can," Goldwinger replied happily.

"Can you take people with you?" Tobi asked.

"I suppose," Goldwinger theorized. "I can create a sort of vortex between dimensions that stays active for around twenty-four hours. And then there's my Zord, that I use to transport the comics. It can come and go too."

Cam and Tobi exchanged looks. Cam couldn't help but glance down briefly at Tobi's pink nipples, which were pointy because of the cool room. His cheeks flushed as he pictured Tori in the same situation. "So, uh," Cam stuttered, "if we find your Zord, you'll be able to take us back to our dimension?"

"Back to your dimension?" Gold winger repeated.

"Yeah, it's a long story and I'm getting kinda cold," Tobi interrupted.

"I'm sure your handsome friend can warm you up," Goldwinger suggested.

Cam groaned, crossing his arms.

"Fine, fine," Goldwinger agreed. "We have a deal."

"Thanks!" Tobi declared, pulling on his clothes.

"Uh, we'll let ourselves out," Cam said, leading Tobi away. Once the two were outside, Cam gave Tobi an exasperated look.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked.

"Let's just say… I can't wait to get back," Cam replied. "A world with a few evil space aliens suddenly doesn't seem so bad."

Tobi frowned at him.

* * *

While Cam headed back to Ninja Ops to track Sensei and Circuit, Tobi picked up his order from Madame Pinweeble and headed to the park. As he entered the park, he noticed Marah and wasn't sure whether he should hide or not. It was too late, as she approached him.

"I don't want any trouble," he told her.

"I'm not here to turn you in," Marah said, stopping a few feet away from him. "I'm here to… apologize."

He gave her a surprised look.

"I heard about what you did for the Golden Guardians," she continued, "healing one of them and I'm sorry. Your friends were fighting the other Zord. Its' just…"

"You were upset and felt betrayed," Tobi suggested.

"Uh, right," she agreed, giving him a surprised look.

"There you are!" Kapri declared, running up to Marah. "We're starting in like ten minutes!"

"I'm coming," Marah assured her. "We're performing," she told Tobi as Kapri ran off. "I was just hoping to find Dustin and tell him…"

"You're sorry?" Tobi suggested. "Well, I'm looking for him too, so we might as well look together."

"Thanks," Marah told him with a smile.

"No problem," he replied.

A dog barking drew their attention to a secluded area of the park where a small brown dog was running around. And there, below a tree, were Dustin and Hunter… kissing.

Tobi and Marah both froze in their tracks as they watched. Just then, Geo came running over to play with the dog and Hunter and Dustin immediately broke their kiss, both blushing heavily.

Tobi looked over at Marah, who was frowning and glaring. "I know you're feeling jealous right now," he told her, "but, if you care about him, you'll want him to be happy no matter what."

She looked at him. "I know the philosophy," she said, "but…"

"Yeah, but…" Tobi agreed.

She gave him a surprised look. "You like him too," she realized.

"Yeah," Tobi gulped. "I do."

"I, uh, better go…" she mumbled, turning to leave.

"No," Tobi said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Marah, he still needs to see you."

She bit her bottom lip nervously. "I really should…"

"Here," he said, leading her by the hand over to the others.

Dustin had let Geo throw a Frisbee for the dog to catch and bring back when the Frisbee hit Dustin in the chest and he pretended to faint. "Oh, no! You got me!" Dustin said, falling to the grass.

The dog immediately jumped him and started licking his face, causing Dustin to giggle. Then Geo jumped him and started barking like a dog, which only made Dustin laugh harder. Meanwhile, Hunter stood watching with a smile on his face.

"Thinking about becoming a dad?" Tobi asked as he approached Hunter. "Dustin's willing to adopt."

Hunter furrowed his brow while watching Dustin play with Geo. "I think Dustin would be a great dad, but… I don't know if I can do it."

"Why not?" Tobi asked. "you're a big brother."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "And I did help out that kid who…" He suddenly froze. "What's she doing here?"

"Marah wants to say something to Dustin," Tobi explained, forcing a reluctant Marah forward.

"Oh, really?" Hunter said, staring at her suspiciously.

"Marah, I'm a dog!" Geo declared happily, crawling on all fours over to her and barking.

"Oh, Marah, hey," Dustin noticed, brushing a hand through his hair nervously. "What's up?"

"We were just going to perform and…" Marah trailed off.

"We'll totally stick around to watch," Dustin agreed. "Right, dude?"

"Right," Hunter said slowly.

Tobi patted Marah on the back for support. "And…" she added. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, uh, no prob," Dustin said, looking flustered. "I like get it and all."

"So… you two, huh?" Marah asked, gesturing toward Hunter.

"You saw that?" Dustin said, grinning nervously. "We were…"

"Kissing," Hunter finished.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, fidgeting and smiling even wider. "For fun and stuff," he added.

"Fun?" Marah repeated.

"Uh…" Dustin mumbled.

"Oh, Dustin, I brought you a… gift," Tobi broke the tension.

Dustin immediately transformed his expression into that of a kid on Christmas morning.

"A present?" Geo asked, suddenly hopping up on his feet to study the parcel in Tobi's hand.

"I had to kind of guess on your measurements," Tobi said, handing the parcel to Dustin, who tore it open like a wild animal while Geo looked on.

Dustin pulled out the yellow costume and smiled wide.

"AD exclamation mark?" Hunter read. "Did you mean ADD?"

"Awesome Dude!" Dustin declared, running off quickly before emerging from the other side of the nearby tree only seconds later wearing a yellow full body spandex suit, complete with cape. "And, look! It even has a bib for when I eat!" he added, wearing the smaller cape in front of him.

"Well, you need it," Hunter said, grinning while looking Dustin's skin tight outfit up and down. It hugged Dustin's every muscle and curve.

"Cool!" Geo declared.

"Actually," Tobi said, removing the smaller cape, "it's a cape for the dog. It works both ways, as 'Awesome Dude!' and 'Awesome Dog!'" He put the cape on the dog, which promptly tried to pull it off.

"Oh! Awesome!" Dustin agreed, placing his hands on his hips as the wind blew his cape and gravity shifted certain contents in his tight costume.

"So, have you guys come up with a name for the dog yet?" Tobi asked, trying not to stare.

"Hunter likes Dusty," Dustin chimed in, "but it's not really like a girl's name."

"How 'bout Chocolate?" Geo suggested, trying to get the dog to wear the cape.

"It has a nice ring to it," Tobi offered.

Dustin turned to Hunter. "I guess it works," Hunter agreed, "but I don't get all the obsession with chocolate."

"Dude, you don't like chocolate!" Dustin asked in shock.

"I like chocolate, I'm just not obsessed," Hunter clarified.

"Look at Dustin," Tobi told Hunter. "Now imagine those caramel chocolate eyes staring at you from below those waves of dark chocolate curls. Imagine his skin isn't just the color of milk chocolate naturally or from dirt, but from melted chocolate… and you have to lick it off his body while he squeals in delight and finally covers himself in milk chocolate colored—"

"I get it!" Hunter interrupted, panting. "I… understand, Tobi."

"Okay," Tobi replied, nodding.

Meanwhile, Dustin looked even more flustered.

"What about… Destiny?" Marah offered.

The others looked at her, surprised.

"It's a girl's name and it sounds like Dusty," she explained.

"Right," Tobi agreed, looking between her and Dustin.

"Destiny," Dustin said outloud, watching Marah before looking down at Geo and the dog. "Destiny Chocolate Brooks."

Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Well, I, uh, better be going," Marah said, also giving Dustin's body a once over with her eyes.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I'm glad you're not like mad at me anymore."

Marah paused, looking up into Dustin's eyes. "I'm glad too," she told him. "And… I'm glad you're happy." She glanced at Hunter before turning to leave.

"Marah, I…" Dustin began, pulling her by the arm and turning her around.

"What?" she asked, facing him again.

He fidgeted nervously, just staring at her.

Hunter glanced at Tobi, folding his arms. "Just kiss her already," Hunter told Dustin. "I know you want to and… I don't mind." He gritted his teeth at the last part.

Dustin gave him a surprised look before looking nervously back at Marah, who was also blushing. The two stared at each other for a moment longer before Dustin leaned down and tilted his head.

Marah's eyelashes fluttered as she tilted her head and let their lips meet. It was a very light and not very long kiss, but Dustin was the first to pull away. "I don't want to like lead you on," he suddenly told her. "I was just curious and I like you and…"

She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his face back to hers, their lips locking tightly this time. When she finally released him, they were both panting for air.

"Eww!" Geo complained.

"I… better go," she said, smiling and blushing heavily before running off with her cousin. "Come on, Geo."

"Bye, Awesome Dude!" Geo called. "Bye Destiny!"

Dustin just stood there with his mouth hanging open and another part of him no longer hanging.

Tobi glanced at a confused Hunter. "Well, I guess she figured it would be her only kiss," he suggested. "Or, maybe she was trying to change his mind…"

Hunter stared at Dustin. "Did it work?" he asked, looking down.

"Did what work, dude?" Dustin replied, looking dazed.

"I'll have to remember that one," Tobi mumbled. "If she was jealous, it was a lot more effective than turning you in or slapping one of you."

Hunter and Dustin gave him a confused look.

"Nevermind," he told them. "Let's listen to Marah's… performance. "Oh, Dustin," he paused, realizing something, "I was wondering how you do the whole changing clothes thing."

"Changing clothes?" Dustin repeated.

"You know, throw off one outfit and different clothes are underneath," Tobi explained.

"Oh, like this?" Dustin asked, grabbing at his costume and throwing it backward to reveal his ninja training outfit, which couldn't possibly have been underneath it. Then he threw that off and he was back in his casual clothes.

"Yeah, how do you do that?" Tobi asked.

Dustin approached him and told him how to hold his arms. "Here, like this," he said, holding Tobi's wrist.

"Even I know how this ends," Hunter mumbled, turning away from them.

"And then you fling your wrist back while moving your other hand, palm flat, down," Dustin explained.

Tobi followed his instructions until his training outfit flew off in one fluid movement. "Wow!" Tobi declared happily. "Thanks!" He hugged Dustin spontaneously before stepping away and blushing.

"No prob, TZT," he told him, running a hand through his hair while licking his bottom lip. "So, uh, now try it yourself, dude."

Tobi broke his eye contact with Dustin and focused on following through with the same movements on his clothes, but somehow he ended up completely nude except for his amulet. He gasped in surprise.

"He's buck naked, isn't he?" Hunter asked, still facing away.

Dustin looked Tobi up and down, blushing. "Dude, we'll, uh, have to, uh, work on that…"

"Yeah, sorry," Tobi apologized, getting his clothes from the grass.

"Oh, yay!" a voice called. "I'm not the only nudist!" A naked man happily jogged by. "Naturists rule!" he yelled as he trotted along barefoot… and bare everything else. "If aliens can be nude, so can we!"

Hunter and Dustin stared in surprised confusion as the man left.

* * *

After Tobi had redressed, the three watched Marah and Kapri perform a kind of singing puppet show. Marah would hold a cow puppet while Kapri held a moon or one would have a unicorn puppet and the other a rainbow, all while singing things like, "I'm the happy cow that jumped over the moon. I'm the happy unicorn that pranced over the rainbow." Needless to say, the three were cringing as they watched.

When it was over, though, they decided to offer a polite applause.

"Encore, encore!" Dustin yelled as Marah and Kapri ran off stage.

"What are you doing?" Hunter asked him.

"What?" Dustin asked, confused. "They were good!"

Both Hunter and Tobi stared at him in shock as Geo went on stage and pounded on an alien made out of drums. It didn't look happy, but Geo definitely did.

"Did you really like it?" Marah asked, prancing over with Kapri.

"Yeah, it was awesome!" Dustin agreed. "I haven't seen singing puppets since… since I was like a little kid and stuff."

"Uh, yeah, me neither," Tobi agreed.

"Sorry we can't do an encore, but we're making… milkshakes!" Kapri announced happily.

Marah giggled and blushed. "Home made, of course," she told Dustin. "I hope you like my milkshake…"

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be awesome," Dustin agreed.

"Why don't' one of you guys perform while we're milking?" Kapri asked.

"I don't have my sax with me," Dustin explained before turning to Hunter, "but Hunter can rap."

"Uh, not really in the mood," Hunter shrugged off Dustin's offer. "Did you say you were going to be… milking?" he asked Marah and Kapri.

"Only the fresh stuff for our fans!" Kapri declared.

Marah giggled. "Yeah, it's sort of a folk singer thing," she said. "Anyway, I'll get your shake."

"Thanks," Dustin replied, turning to Tobi. "Hey, you said you can sing!"

Tobi fidgeted nervously. "Well, I…"

"Oh, you should _so_ do it!" Kapri insisted, grabbing him by the arm.

"Do it!" Dustin declared. "I promise I won't laugh or anything. You'll be awesome!"

Tobi stared at Dustin's sparkling brown eyes. "Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "For you," he added in a whisper as the girls led him to the stage and grabbed an alien with a banjo. Once Geo's drumming was done, the girls pulled Tobi onstage before scurrying off to make milkshakes. "Uh, you know the tune to 'Dust to Dust'?" he asked the banjo holding alien.

The alien just nodded before producing music that couldn't possibly have come from the banjo in his hands.

Tobi looked out nervously at the crowd of humans, kelzacks and aliens before spotting Dustin, who waved encouragingly at him. He couldn't help but blush again as Dustin's eyes caught the sunlight. Then, clearing his throat and tucking his hair behind his ears, he waited for the music as his cue. "I've been on the outside looking in," he sang. "I've been at a crossroads wondering where to begin." He cleared his throat again and smiled nervously, but Dustin just gave him a thumbs up. "I wish I was carefree. I wish I was cocky. I wish I was crazy enough to believe in you and me. But dust to dust we're born, what we know not for. The one thing I know for sure is I've been waiting for more…" Suddenly a trumpet began playing along with Tobi's singing. "You're heart's like a lion with it starts to roar. You're brave as a falcon when it learns to soar. You're smart like a dolphin who knows much more. You're love's like the thunder echoing from a distant shore. And now I know, you're the more I've been waiting for."

Hunter and Dustin's morphers beeped and they listened to their wrists as Tobi sang, both of them nodding.

"You've been on the inside looking out," Tobi continued. "You've been at a crossroads without a single doubt. You know you're carefree. You know you're cocky. You're even crazy enough to believe in destiny. But dust to dust we're born, what we know not for. The one thing you know for sure is I'm not what you've been waiting for. You're hearts like a lion…" His voice trailed off as Dustin tried to get his attention by waving his hands and pointing to his morpher.

Wandering off stage with flushed cheeks, Tobi approached the others. "Cam says he's spotted the Dragon Zord," Hunter told him.

"He wants us to go check it out while he argues with Sensei or something," Dustin added, turning and preparing to leave. "Oh, and awesome singing, TZT," he told Tobi, "but kinda a sad song."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, blinking heavily at Dustin.

"Fresh milkshakes coming through," a voice announced as the three turned to see Marah and Kapri bringing over a tray of cups with straws.

"We'll take them to go," Hunter told the girls.

"Where are you going?" Marah asked, pouting.

"You know, smash a Zord, save the world," Dustin explained with a grin. "The usual."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Let's go, loverboy."

"Huh?" Dustin asked, taking his milkshake from Marah and sipping it. "Mmmm, creamy!" he declared.

Geo ran over to them. "Did you like my drumming?" he asked.

"Yeah! You were totally rocking, Geodude!" Dustin agreed.

"We'll see you later," Tobi told Marah as the tree guys looked for a secluded spot to streak from. "Would you mind keeping an eye on Destiny while we're gone? I don't think it'll be safe for her."

"Oh, right…" Dustin said, disappointed.

"Sure," Marah agreed as Geo picked up the dog.

"Thanks," Dustin mumbled, glancing between Destiny, Geo and Marah before the three streaked off.

"Wow!" Geo declared as he saw them become colored blurs. "I want to be a Power Ranger!"

Marah looked at him sharply before her eyes softened. "Yeah," she agreed. "They're not so bad…"

* * *

The three streaked to a rock quarry, where the black Dragon Zord looked ominously down at them. But, as they joined the other rangers who were already there, they realized that the Dragon Zord was still completely motionless.

"I saw you guys were… busy at the park," Shane told Hunter and Dustin, "so I went back to Ninja Ops, where Tori and Blake were… busy too."

Hunter looked over toward his brother and Tori, both of whom were blushing. "It was just a kiss," Tori assured Hunter.

"Yeah," Blake chimed in. "You're not jealous, bro?"

Hunter stiffened. "Course not," he defended. "Just want my bro and my… friend to be happy."

Blake laughed, nodding toward Dustin. "Shane tells us you got some action too."

Hunter smiled nervously. "Well… Dustin also kissed Marah."

"Dustin kissed Marah?" Tori repeated, surprised.

"It was… quite a kiss," Hunter added, cringing.

Dustin blushed and kicked some rocks with his shoe.

"So, you kissed Hunter again and Marah," Tori told Dustin. "Did you kiss Tobi again too?"

"No, he didn't," Tobi answered for him.

Dustin grinned nervously while his eyes darted from Tobi to the others. "Uh, maybe later," he mumbled.

Shane shook his head. "So, Cam says he thinks this big thing doesn't have a power supply, so it has to keep sucking up energy from the earth," he explained.

"Then, when it runs out of energy, it has to recharge," Tori finished.

"Then now's our chance to destroy it," Hunter suggested.

"Cam says he almost has the Megazord configuration ready and we'll need it to make even a dent against the Dragon Zord's armor," Shane added.

"So, where are Doctor Oliver and the others?" Tobi asked.

"Cam doesn't know," Shane replied.

Suddenly a shadow passed over the group. They looked up in time to see a black spiderweb forming around them. "Like flies to honey," a voice commented as a shadowy figure took shape outside the web.

"It's a trap!" Shane realized while Dustin tried to touch the black web surrounding them.

"Ah!" Dustin yelled. Both Hunter and Tobi ran over to him and, as he fell to the ground, he became completely motionless. They turned him over to see that his eyes were entirely black.

"Please, by all means try to get out," the figure said, forming into Dr. Oliver. He waved a hand and the web began to shrink.

"Ah!" Tori was caught off guard and was hit by the contracting web. Immediately her eyes went black.

"Dustin!" Hunter yelled, shaking his arms, but there was no response from the earth ninja.

"Why are you doing this?" Tobi asked Dr. Oliver, glancing away from Dustin's once lively brown eyes that were now a lifeless black.

"Really, you're just in the way," Dr. Oliver said dismissively.

"Ah!" Hunter yelled. Since he was facing Dustin, the web had caught him from behind. He fell lifelessly beside Dustin.

"Bro!" Blake yelled, reaching out and ending up with his hand touching the web. Both the brothers' eyes were now black.

"What are you doing to them?" Shane growled, ducking to the ground with Tobi as the web around them continued to shrink.

"For them, it's just like a bad dream they can never awaken from," Dr. Oliver explained, "until the blackness destroys their minds or stops their hearts. Either's a possibility. They'll feel so depressed they'll welcome death with open arms… and open eyes." A grin curled up on the edge of his mouth.

Tobi wanted to reach for Dustin, but he was now outside the web, lying motionless, his black eyes open wide, as if in horror.

"Ah!" Shane gasped, falling onto Tobi and knocking him to the ground just before the web could reach him too.

Outside the web, Dr. Oliver crossed his arms and waited.

Tobi looked at Dustin and the others and then back to the contracting shadow web. He tried to think of what he could do and decided on focusing on the web, but he couldn't see it in his mind. It was like it wasn't even there… and then it reached him.

"Ah!" he cried in pain as he felt his eyes grow black and his body grow limp.

He felt himself soaring weightlessly in a sea of blackness. There was no point to trying to fight it. The blackness had won. It was hopeless. There was no reason to go on…

He felt his body beg for death and wanted to give in. It all seemed so pointless.

…

But… there was something…

There was a point, some meaning…

He couldn't quite remember what it was, though. It was… a person? But why would he care about a person? No one cared about him. No one loved him, so why would he love someone who cared nothing for him? Why would he…

Dustin.

That was it, the person, the reason…

"Dustin…" he choked out into the blackness. "I lo—"

Immediately, the pain and sorrow hit him harder than before, the darkness sweeping over him. But, it was too late.

He felt something burning within him and let the feeling grow, igniting it and fueling it with every last thread of his strength.

Suddenly a blinding light burst out from behind his eyes.

"Not possible!" Dr. Oliver declared as Tobi's eyes transformed from black orbs to glowing lights.

Tobi gasped, blinking repeatedly until he could see. He looked around, scrambling to find Dustin, who was still lying helpless on the ground with eyes full of darkness. He grabbed Dustin's hand in his own. "Dustin," he whispered. "I'll always be here for you... even when you don't need me." He watched as Dustin's eyes returned to there familiar warm caramel chocolate color and he blinked.

"Dude, I feel like I got hit by a truck," Dustin complained as Tobi shook off a wave of fatigue and went on to Hunter, who was lying nearby. He touched Hunter before noticing Dr. Oliver raise his arms.

Tobi raised his own arms at the exact same moment that lighting shot from Dr. Oliver's palms. A wave of energy bounced the lighting back, knocking Dr. Oliver to the ground.

Immediately, Tobi went on to Tori and then Shane and Blake.

Blake actually threw up on the ground. "I feel awful," he complained.

Tobi fell to the ground, panting. He tried to reach his shaking hands for his amulet, but couldn't find the strength necessary after freeing the others.

Suddenly he felt his fingers wrapping around the metallic surface. And, as it glowed, he felt his strength returning. "Thanks," a voice whispered to him and he opened his eyes to see Hunter looking at him. He gave Hunter a surprised look before he noticed Dr. Oliver regaining his footing.

Tobi promptly launched a wave of energy against him, knocking him back to the ground. "No, stay down!" Tobi yelled, anger in his voice.

Tori approached him, staring with wide eyes. "Tobi, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tobi breathed. "Are you guys okay?"

"I guess so," she agreed, glancing at Hunter, who looked back at Dustin and nodded.

"What?" Tobi asked, as both Tori and Hunter looked at him strangely.

"Your eyes… they're glowing," Tori said.

Tobi furrowed his brow and blinked. Why would his eyes be glowing?

"There, it's going away," she told him.

"Oh…" he mumbled, confused.

"Finally you three return," Dr. Oliver declared before becoming smoke.

The group watched the smoke approach three figures that were holding shopping bags. It was Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6.

"Don't blame me," Kimberly said, eyeing the group suspiciously.

"I'm just stocking up for the apocalypse," Billy explained, gesturing toward the bags of clothes hanging from Alpha 6 like a coat rack.

Shane nodded toward the others. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form!" The rangers morphed and, when Tobi looked over, he saw that Dustin was now in his "Awesome Dude!" costume, cape flapping behind him.

"What the—?" Shane began.

"Let's not ask," Tori suggested.

"Here," the smoke told Kimberly and Billy as it formed a pair of hands that gave something to the two.

"Where did you…?" Kimberly began to ask. "Oh, Tommy…"

"Just activate them!" Dr. Oliver commanded.

"It's morphin' time!" Kimberly declared. "Pink Ranger Power!" She held out a golden amulet with a crane carved into hit.

"Blue Ranger Power!" Billy called, also holding an amulet of his own with a wolf carved into it.

The two transformed into ninja Power Rangers, Kimberly wrapped all in pink and Billy in light blue wrappings. The others looked at each other in surprise at seeing two new Power Rangers.

"The Mighty Morphin Ninja Power Rangers!" Dustin announced.

"The power won't last," Dr. Oliver warned. "Kill them now."

As the pink and blue ninjas sprang into action, immediately attacking the other rangers, Dr. Oliver swirled around the group.

Billy punched Dustin with one hand, which sent the unmorphed earth ninja flying through the air until he finally collided with the metal surface of the Dragon Zord's foot. Hunter sprang toward Billy, but the blue ninja just kicked him aside. "I _so_ missed this!" Billy commented.

"You're not the only one," Kimberly agreed, taking on Tori and Blake. Blake kicked her, but she vanished, appearing directly behind him, where she knocked him to the ground before kicking Tori.

Shane spun around, surprised to see the robot Alpha 6 standing in front of him.

"I-I-I," it whined in a high pitched voice. "I-I-I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Good luck, tin head," Shane mocked.

"It's copper!" Alpha 6 corrected, swinging an arm toward Shane, who dodged it before kicking the robot. The sound of a metallic clank filled the air and Shane hopped on one foot, obviously in pain.

Meanwhile, Tobi ran over to Dustin, helping him up. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I—Look out!" Dustin warned as Dr. Oliver swirled around Tobi.

"You will be the first to die," the smoke declared. "You are a worthy adversary."

Tobi sent a wave of energy out around himself, but the smoke just reformed.

"You can't do anything to me when I'm like this," the smoke told him.

"But you can't do anything to me, either," Tobi realized, reaching into the smoke. Suddenly, he felt like he'd been shocked and he fell backward, hitting the ground hard.

Immediately, Dustin reached to help him up.

"Maybe we should keep one alive long enough to lead us to their power source," Kimberly suggested while throwing Blake against Tori.

"A good idea," Dr. Oliver gasped. He was now fully formed and lying on the ground. Apparently, when Tobi and Dr. Oliver came in contact, they somehow incapacitated each other.

Tobi looked closer and noticed a silver amulet attached to Dr. Oliver's belt. He had to get the amulet away from him, but the moment he dove toward Dr. Oliver, he became black smoke that streaked around like a shadow.

"This one's like even dumber than me and like not even a Power Ranger," Billy said, kicking Dustin away from Tobi. "We don't' need him alive.

Tobi grit his teeth, spinning around.

Tori was closest, so she ran over to stop Billy. "Tobi, your eyes…" she called, as Kimberly knocked her to the ground.

Tobi just waved his arm and Billy was shot through the air until he hit the distant edge of the quarry.

Suddenly a jolt of electricity shot through Tobi's body and he fell to the ground. He looked over to see Dr. Oliver, once again formed and now lying near him. He must have intentionally touched Tobi, incapacitating them both again. "Now!" Dr. Oliver choked out. "Finish him!"

Instantly, Kimberly was on Tobi, punching him repeatedly before he could recover from his contact with Dr. Oliver. He felt his nose break and blood cover his face.

"No!" the others yelled, clutching their injured bodies and limping over to stop Kimberly. Hunter went over to check on Dustin while Tori struggled to pull the much stronger Kimberly off Tobi. Blake and Shane's path was blocked by Alpha 6.

The pink ninja just tossed Tori aside, throwing her into Shane.

Just then, a fireball hit Kimberly, sending her tumbling off Tobi.

The others looked up to see a large moth-shaped gold Zord flying by with a small guinea pig atop it.

The Moth Zord landed and the formerly grumpy Sensei flew over to the rangers by riding on top of Circuit. "This is a rescue," he told them. "Hop in this Zord and you're going back to your dimension."

"What?" Dustin asked as he studied Tobi's face.

"Is that possible?" Shane asked.

Tobi reached up and started healing his face and upper chest.

"It is possible and it must be done now," the guinea pig insisted, firing another fireball at Kimberly while Hunter and Blake electrocuted Alpha 6.

"But we can't leave this dimension to be destroyed," Tori replied, washing the blood off Tobi's face with water.

Just then, a familiar Megazord stomped its way toward them. "Sorry for the delay," Cam's voice came from their morphers, "but my fathers were being argumentative." It was Shane, Tori and Dustin's animal Zords combined into their Storm Megazord.

"If you have to finish this before you go, stomp on them now while they are vulnerable," the grumpy Sensei declared.

"I'm with Sensei—one of the Sensei's—on this," Hunter agreed, studying a cut down Dustin's back. "With the Megazord, we can squash them."

Tobi examined the ripped cape before pulling aside the torn fabric on the back of Dustin's costume. "The cape blocked most of the impact," he observed as he ran a finger along Dustin's cut, healing it.

"Cold blooded murder is not the way of a ninja," the voice of calm Sensei came from their morphers.

Tobi stumbled, leaning a hand against the nearby Dragon Zord's foot for support as he again used his amulet to regain his strength. As he held the glowing Sun Amulet in one hand and leaned his other against the Dragon Zord, he felt energy flow through him from the amulet to the Dragon Zord. He looked over to see the black and silver surface becoming gold.

Creak! Clank! He looked up to see the Dragon Zord transforming from a dragon into something with wings…

Shane glanced up at the transforming Dragon Zord before nodding to Tori and Dustin. The three jumped into the air and entered their Megazord.

Tobi backed away from the Dragon Zord as the others began their attack against it using their Megazord. Once his contact was released, the Dragon Zord returned to its black and silver color, but it was now a dragon with a slightly more bird-like face and with wings. Also, its eyes were now glowing and it began to move.

The Storm Megazord reached out, lifting the now alive Dragon Zord by the tail and flinging it across the quarry. Before the Dragon Zord could recover, the Megazord fired a weapon, blasting the entire edge of the quarry. But, as the smoke cleared, the Dragon Zord was hovering on its newly formed wings. A loud growl echoed from it.

"Apparently it's been long enough," a voice said as a shadow streaked across the ground, swirling up around Kimberly, Billy and then Alpha 6.

"You had your chance!" grumpy Sensei yelled, watching the three become part of the smoke as it swirled around the Dragon Zord.

A gust of air blew out from the Dragon Zord, pushing the Megazord back before it vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Hunter pounded his fist into his gloved hand and growled.

"Chill, bro," Blake warned him. "We couldn't just kill them."

"But they tried to kill us," Hunter said. "And they could have killed Dustin easily." He looked at Tobi. "Thanks," he told him. "I owe you one."

"No problem," Tobi mumbled.

"Guys, our friend has just appeared back in the city," Cam's voice came from Hunter and Blake's morphers. "And… it's headed for the park."

Dustin's voice could be heard over the morpher, repeating in a worried tone, "The park… Marah…"

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To be continued...**_

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Author's Notes:**__ "I hope you like my milkshake…" So, did it work to have the first half of the chapter less serious and the end more serious? Let me know what you'd like to see in future chapters! As you can tell from reading this one, I add a lot of things based on my reviewers' tastes (examples: YellowPrincess's Marah makeup and Magichalo's Zord suggestion. __**Remember, you can review anonymously! Just click "Review This Chapter!" Please! **__Thanks!_


	26. Sacrifices

**NEW POLL****: **_**Who should go to and stay in the REGULAR dimension, aka the GOOD Power Rangers dimension?**_** Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.**

**PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS: **_How do you feel about having a character DIE?_ 50% somewhat to completely against no matter who it is. 38% open to if it's someone from Tobi's dimension. And, no, this doesn't mean that I killed off 38% of the characters from Tobi's dimension, but…

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_WARNING! WARNING!_**_**: **This chapter contains a lot more violence than I have had in any other chapter. Also, it's pretty much action-centric which is not my strongest genre, so let me know what you think. No, it's not all action. As always, there's plenty of drama. And, yes, as the previous poll suggested, there is DEATH in this chapter… as in characters die! Don't say you weren't warned…_

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Review Comments: **_

_Thanks _**griffin blackwood**_ for reviewing the last two chapters! I guess, since you say you didn't vote in the poll about what past gen characters to add, it was either a coincidence or some people who read your story voted. And, no human milk in this chapter!_

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess **_for your neverending praise for the last chapter! I'll definitely consider pairing up Dustin and Tobi in the good PR dimension, but I'll also create a poll when the time comes. As far as why Dustin and Hunter kiss, he may say that it's "for fun" or whatever, but what you said gave me an idea that I'll address in the next chapter. I'll try to really get inside Dustin's mind. This chapter is really different, so I hope you don't go crazy once you read it to the end…_

_Thanks _**Magichalo **_for thinking none of the last chapter was fluff after all! This one is definitely much more serious. And thank you very much for pointing out that the action scenes were not easy to follow. I went back and modified them in the last chapter, but don't worry! You don't need to re-read it since I have tried to make things clearer in this chapter and to answer your questions during the action. It's kind of fast paced, though, so please let me know how it comes out!_

_Thanks _**FinalJudgement** _for saying twice in one review that you love my story! I would like to say not to worry, that I didn't kill off any characters you mentioned, but then I'd be giving away something and I have to torture my readers by making them wonder who lives and who dies… Well, okay, I certainly hope it's not torture. Everything happens for a reason. But, not everyone can make it through alive…_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Cam and Tobi meet the eccentric Goldwinger, who tells them a guinea pig and robot owl stole his Zord that can travel between dimensions. Tobi makes Dustin an "Awesome Dude!" costume and, on the way to delivering it, he runs into Marah, who apologizes. The two then see Hunter and Dustin kissing in the park and Tobi convinces Marah to make up with Dustin. After Dustin kisses Marah and Tobi sings, the rangers go to a quarry where the Dragon Zord is. It turns out to be a trap, but Tobi saves the day until Kimberly and Billy show up and morph. When Tobi and Dr. Oliver touch, they both become incapacitated. Grumpy Sensei, Circuit and Goldwinger's Zord have to save them all as Tobi's touch causes the Dragon Zord to transform. Cam finishes the rangers' Megazord configuration and Shane, Tori and Dustin enter their Megazord to attack the massive Dragon Xord that now has wings. But, no sooner do the rangers have the upper hand then the Dragon Zord is transported to the park, where Marah, her cousin Geo and the dog Destiny are...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 26 (Sacrifices)**

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"I've calculated a pattern in the path of the Dragon Zord," Cam's voice announced from the rangers' morphers. "It has been progressively heading toward what my father calls the Abyss of Evil. It _must_ be stopped before it reaches its destination."

Without another word, Shane, Tori and Dustin piloted their Megazord while Hunter, Blake and Tobi streaked to the park.

When the rangers arrived at the park, the winged Dragon Zord was smashing its way through trees and picnic tables while humans, aliens and kelzacks ran for cover. It may have been slightly shorter than the rangers' Storm Megazord, but it more than made up for that with its sizable girth.

"Man, I really miss our Zords, bro," Blake commented upon ending his streak and assessing the situation.

"Tell me about it," Hunter agreed just as—Blast!—a stream of fire came shooting out of the Dragon Zord's mouth.

The two thunder rangers and Tobi quickly streaked aside just as the grass and nearby trees burst into flames.

"Woah!" Blake yelled. "Since when can it blow fire?"

"Since it grew wings," Hunter concluded, shrugging.

Tobi furrowed his brow, thinking. A scream distracted him as a couple kelzacks had caught on fire. The thunder brothers rushed over to help them as Hunter raised his wrist.

"Tor, we need some rain out here," Hunter told his morpher as he coughed from the smoke.

"I'll see what I can do," Tori's voice replied.

Tobi looked up as the rangers' Megazord slashed repeatedly at the Dragon Zord before he tended to the kelzacks' injuries. He decided to raise his own wrist. "Cam, do you read me?" he asked.

"I'm here, Tobi," Cam replied with a sigh, "but I'm a little busy. What's wrong?"

"Earlier, when we were in the quarry, I accidently touched the Dragon Zord and it started to turn gold," Tobi explained. "It also grew wings and now it can shoot flames."

"And you think you caused that?" Cam asked. "It could easily be a coincidence."

"Maybe," Tobi agreed as it started to rain enough to put out the surrounding fires, "but I think it's more than that. Energy was flowing from the Sun Amulet to the Dragon Zord. And, I saw what I think is the Shade Amulet on Doctor Oliver. If we could—"

"You think he's using his amulet to control the Zord," Cam interrupted. "I wondered the same thing. If that's true, that would explain how he summoned the Zord, but I still don't' see where your amulet comes into play."

"I don't know either, but I think we need to focus on getting the Shade Amulet away from Doctor Oliver," Tobi suggested.

"So, we'll need to draw him out of the Dragon Zord again," Cam concluded just as Tobi jumped aside to avoid a flying tree that had been toppled by the Dragon Zord's tail.

"When me and Doctor Oliver came in contact with each other, we were both unable to move for a moment," Tobi added, wiping rain and mud off his face. "I think it has to do with our amulets. If I could just get to him, then you guys can move in."

"Easier said than done," Cam commented, "especially with his friends being—Hold on, Tobi." He interrupted himself before addressing, "Shane, Tori and Dustin, you are go for Storm Megazord Lighting Mode!"

Suddenly the rangers' Megazord transformed into a sleeker giant robot that was able to more rapidly attack the Dragon Zord. But, speed made little difference as the Dragon Zord still didn't so much as develop a single dent.

"Look out!" Hunter yelled toward Tobi, as the park's fountain was knocked right out of the ground, where it then rolled into a tree, causing both to topple over. Water was now spraying out of the ground, combining with the rain to make even more mud.

As the fleeing park dwellers slipped in the mud, so did both Zords. "Cam, we're not making a difference out here," Shane complained.

"We're totally being showed up," Dustin agreed. "We like need a plan."

"I'm doing what I can," Cam responded sharply.

"We know you are, Cam," Tori chimed in, "but I never thought I'd agree with Dustin. We need a strategy."

Just then, the rangers' Megazord was thrown to the ground. The Dragon Zord immediately began drilling into it with its tail. Sparks started spraying out from the metal on metal contact as the Megazord powered down from its more agile Lighting Mode.

"I'm sending you two Power Spheres for the Turbine Combo," Cam told the others. "I've scanned the Dragon Zord's interior and I've identified what can only be described as its heart. I think that's what absorbs and stores energy. Aim directly for its chest and be as close as possible."

A moment later, the rangers' Megazord produced two weapons, a lion-shaped laser and a squid-shaped drill. Combining the two weapons into one handheld drilling gun, the Megazord shoved the new weapon against the Dragon Zord's chest and fired. The spinning blast sent the Dragon Zord flying backward, but after its chest stopped glowing from the combined drilling and the blast of energy, it was once again undamaged.

"No way!" Shane protested. "It's not even phased."

As the Dragon Zord stomped its way back over to the rangers' Megazord, Tobi activated his communicator. "Dustin, can you make the ground swallow up the Dragon Zord?" he asked. "The rain's made it soft, so…"

"Yeah," Dustin's voice agreed. "But I need to be on the ground."

"Why do you need to be outside, Dustin?" Tori asked.

"Come on, Tor, you know I need to like be one with my element," Dustin explained.

"Cam, can we still control the Megazord without him?" Shane asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Cam agreed, "but Dustin, do it fast."

"No prob," Dustin agreed. "I'll be super fast, dude."

Tobi watched as Dustin jumped out of the Megazord and landed near him. He grinned before facing the Dragon Zord and closing his eyes.

The ground began to shake as the earth underneath the heavy Dragon Zord seemed to almost melt under its massive feet. It slipped in the mud before sinking into the ground as if it were quicksand. Its claws pulled a few trees under with it.

The Megazord stood over the soft ground as Dustin hardened it. Tobi heard a commotion and looked over just in time to see Lothor with his allies. One of the aliens was already firing at Dustin and Tobi barely had time to raise his arms before Hunter had streaked in the way and taken the blast to his chest. As he fell to the ground, Dustin opened his eyes and ran over to him.

Tobi approached the two and deflected another shot from one of the aliens back at Lothor's group.

"You okay, dude?" Dustin asked, helping Hunter up.

"Yeah," he grunted, clutching his chest as Blake approached.

"Can't you see we're trying to help here?" Tobi asked, now standing between Lothor and the rangers.

"He has a point," Vexacus agreed. "They did bury the other Zord."

Lothor furrowed his masked brow. "I'm not the fool everyone thinks I am," he commented, mostly to himself. The kelzacks with him stood ready to fight.

"Where's Marah when you need her?" Tobi thought outloud before addressing his communicator. "Tori, you talked to this Lothor before. Can you convince him now?"

There was a moment of silence as Tori jumped out of the Megazord and approached. She stopped when she noticed Hunter clutching his chest. "What happened?" she asked, opening her visor.

"Just a trigger happy monster," he replied. "I'll be fine. The suit heals after all."

"Sure," she agreed, approaching Tobi. "Tobi," she began just as Dustin called, "TZT." She gave him a quick gesture, saying, "Go ahead, Dustin."

"I was just gonna ask Tobi to help Hunter," he told her.

A grin curled up on her lips as she turned to Tobi. "Me too," she agreed.

"I'm on it," he told her, his eyes glancing between her and Dustin. "Everybody loves Hunter," he commented with a sigh.

Dustin and Tori both gave him panicked looks. "We're just… friends," Tori assured him. "Good friends."

"And, dude, I don't know if I like… love him," Dustin defended. "I like him a lot and I like kissing him, but I like kissing, you know?"

Tobi rolled his eyes and walked over to Hunter as Tori demorphed while approaching Lothor. "Do you remember me?" she asked him. I helped convince you to fight back against the Power Rangers, but these aren't the same Power Rangers."

Just then, the gold Moth Zord flew past them before backtracking. It seemed to be flying away from Goldwinger, who was hovering after it. The Moth Zord zigzagged a few more times, causing Goldwinger to zigzag after it.

"What's going on?" Lothor asked as Goldwinger paused in his pursuit and landed in front of Lothor. "Goldwinger?" Lothor asked, surprised.

"You guys know each other?" Tobi asked, glancing between Goldwinger and Lothor as he placed a hand on Hunter.

Hunter took a sharp breath as his chest healed. "Thanks," he offered.

"No pr—" Tobi began before having to clutch his amulet.

"Tobi, are you alright?" Tori asked him.

"Yeah," he replied. "Healing just drains me, but the amulet somehow recharges my energy."

She gave the glowing amulet around his neck a curious look as Goldwinger continued.

"We went to school together back in the day," Goldwinger explained. "We both did well in art. Of course, back then, he went by Kiya."

"Kiya?" a voice echoed from behind Goldwinger. The others turned to see grumpy Sensei flying over atop Circuit. "So, it's true that you are my twin brother."

"Ah, my adorable little thieves have finally given up!" Goldwinger declared with a clap of his hands.

"Twin brother?" Lothor repeated, stepping around Goldwinger to get a better look at his brother.

I wasn't always a guinea pig," Sensei pointed out. "It's me, Kanoi Watanabe."

Lothor backed up so that Goldwinger was once again between him and Sensei. Then he squinted and a smile curved up on his mouth. "It looks like karma has finally caught up with you, Kiya."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sensei snapped, using Circuit to fly him closer to Lothor.

Lothor instinctively hid behind Goldwinger, who gave him a funny look.

"You're still afraid of me," Sensei noticed.

"No—no," Lothor disagreed, stepping out from behind Goldwinger. "I may have changed my name and hidden my identity," he said, gesturing to his mask, "but I'm not still… afraid of you."

"Lothor," Sensei mused. "I should have figured it out even before these rangers from another dimension suggested the idea. After all, who else but my scaredy cat brother would go by the name of an ancient _coward_?"

Lothor cringed. "I'm—I'm not still a coward," he defended. "I'm the mayor of this city and I have exercised my responsibility as—"

Suddenly the ground burst open and the Dragon Zord shot out, throwing the Megazord backward as it flew out of its underground tomb and hovered on its wings. A burst of flames shot from its mouth. Tori redirected the water from the now trashed fountain against the fire, extinguishing it. "Dustin, come on!" she called as she morphed and jumped back into the Megazord.

"So, there really is another dimension," Lothor pondered, moving to take cover behind some fallen trees. "And I thought it was just a game Goldwinger liked to play, like meet my imaginary friends."

"They're from that other dimension and I'm trying to get them back," Sensei said, looking at Goldwinger.

"Well, you could have just asked!" Goldwinger told him. "How could I say not to you or your absolutely gorgeous friends?" He looked Dustin's water and mud soaked skin-tight spandex up and down.

"Then I guess we're all on the same side…" Lothor reluctantly agreed.

Dustin turned to head back to the Megazord just as Geo came running toward the group. "Awesome Dude! Dustin!" he called, slipping halfway and sliding in the mud.

"Geodude, what're you doing here?" Dustin asked, helping him up.

"It's Marah!" Geo told him. "She's in trouble!"

Dustin's eyes widened. "Where!"

Geo began running and Dustin followed him. Tobi looked to Hunter and Blake. Hunter opened his visor and gave him a worried look before the three followed Dustin and Geo.

"There!" Geo yelled, pointing toward a toppled tree that Kapri was trying to lift.

"Marah?" Dustin asked, running around the tree.

"Dus—Dustin," Marah grunted from beneath the tree.

Dustin and Geo both tried to lift the tree off Marah before the morphed thunder rangers nodded toward each other. The brothers easily lifted the tree, hurling it aside.

Kapri gasped as she saw Marah's crushed body. "Marah," she choked out.

"I c-can't feel my…" Marah stuttered, her eyes rolling back into her head.

"Marah!" Dustin shouted, panic in his voice.

All she managed was a choking sound.

"TZT!" Dustin yelled. "Help her!"

Tobi immediately knelt down beside Marah's broken body and focused on healing her. The injuries were much more extensive than he had ever treated before, but he quickly saw the familiar flames spreading over her body. He reached out and clutched his amulet tightly as he felt his energy draining. He still fell forward, as the amulet couldn't recharge him quite as fast as Marah's healing process progressed.

Marah gasped, blinking heavily and raising her arms to touch her chest. After a moment, Dustin and Kapri helped her to her feet. "How do you feel?" Dustin asked her.

"Fine," she breathed, surprised.

"Why'd you come back?" Kapri asked.

Marah blinked, as if still dazed. "Destiny," she realized, looking around.

"Destiny!" Geo called, whistling.

"Destiny Chocolate Brooks!" Dustin yelled.

"I see her!" Kapri declared, bending over near Marah.

The others squinted as Kapri dug a wet brown ball of fur out of the mud where the toppled tree had been.

The others gathered around as she brushed the mud off Destiny.

"Why's she not moving?" Geo asked, holding her cape that had fallen off.

Dustin reached out, taking Destiny from Kapri. He ran a hand through her fur as Marah approached and listened for breathing or a heartbeat. She looked up at Dustin with a horrified expression.

"No!" Dustin yelled, running over to Tobi and forcing Destiny into his arms. "Make her okay," he pleaded.

Tobi held the limp dog awkwardly in his arms as he focused, but nothing happened. He tried focusing harder, but he couldn't find anything to grab on to. He looked up at Dustin, into his moist chocolate eyes filled with both fear and hope and whispered, "I can't. She's… dead."

"Try harder!" Dustin insisted.

"I am… but there's no life left to work with," Tobi explained. "There has to be something for—"

"You have to!" Dustin demanded, running a shaky hand over Destiny's lifeless head before looking into Tobi's eyes.

"Dustin, I…" Tobi began, but he couldn't finish. The look in Dustin's eyes was killing him, but what could he do?

"TZT, Tobi, I believe in you…" Dustin told him.

Tobi immediately closed his eyes again and kept focusing on trying to heal Destiny, but he still turned up no results. He opened his eyes, staring back at Dustin with a guilty look.

"Bro, what about a jolt of electricity?" Blake suggested to Hunter.

"Tobi, put her down," Hunter said.

Doing as he was instructed, Tobi set Destiny's body back in the mud. Hunter raised his palms toward the dog and sparks of lightning streaked from his hands to Destiny. Her body jumped from the electricity as it flickered through a nearby puddle. Hunter looked at Tobi, who kneeled next to her.

Focusing, Tobi closed his eyes. There was still nothing to ignite unless he wanted to set her body on fire. He shook his head, so Hunter shot another arc of electricity into her body. Tobi shook his head again and again Hunter electrocuted Destiny's lifeless form.

"Dude, what's that smell?" Dustin asked, crinkling his nose as Tobi again shook his head.

Marah covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. "He's… _burning_ her," she realized. "Stop it!"

Hunter paused, looking at Dustin, who bit his bottom lip and looked between Marah, Destiny and Tobi. "Do it again," he told Hunter.

Hunter nodded before continuing. Meanwhile, Tobi continued to focus on finding some spark of life as smoke began to rise off the electrocuted fur. Geo grabbed Marah around the legs, burying his face in her jeans and balling the cape in his hand into a fist. He cried as Marah ran a hand through his hair.

"Bro—" Blake began.

"I'm not stopping until Dustin says to," Hunter interrupted him. He looked at Dustin, the earth ninja's eyes wide with horror and shock. Deep down, Hunter knew that Dustin wasn't going to ask to stop, even if the dog that Dustin had rescued were a pile of ash.

"Dustin," Cam's voice called from Dustin's morpher. "Where are you? Shane and Tori need you."

Dustin just continued to stare at Destiny's smoldering body.

Blake gave his brother another silent warning look.

Suddenly Tobi spotted a tiny flicker of something. He latched all his concentration onto it before it could fully vanish and focused hard. "I have…" Tobi started, loosing the ability to talk as he concentrated further. He had managed to hold onto that tiny glowing strand of life, but he couldn't seem to ignite it. He got on his knees and held onto Destiny's body, continuing to concentrate as the others watched in silence.

The stench of burning fur was overpowering, but he tried to ignore it until… Finally, the thread expanded and her body glowed with flames as he fell face first into the mud.

Hunter, Blake and Dustin immediately turned him over and saw that his skin was pale and he wasn't breathing. Hunter forced the Sun Amulet into his palm and watched as it began to glow.

Dustin lifted Tobi's other hand and held it for a moment, staring down at him. "Will he be okay?" he asked Hunter.

"I… hope so," Hunter replied just as they both heard barking.

Dustin immediately dropped Tobi's hand and spun around, a mixture of shock and joy on his face as he saw Destiny jumping around.

Geo picked up Destiny and showed her to Marah as Dustin approached them with a big smile on his face.

Hunter looked back down at Tobi as he started breathing again and his eyes fluttered open. "Thanks," Hunter whispered to him.

"That was _so_ awesome!" Dustin declared, turning back to Tobi. He ran over and pulled Tobi off the ground and into a hug in one motion.

"No problem," he told Dustin, closing his eyes and grinning as Dustin held him a moment longer before giving him a quick kiss right on the lips and then releasing him and running back to Marah, Geo and Destiny.

The moment he was released, Tobi started to fall backward, but Hunter caught him. He looked up at the crimson ranger, who offered him a confused but appreciative smile.

Just then, sounds of a large number of people moving through the trees drew their attention. Frax was leading the Golden Guardians.

Marah immediately stepped in front of them. "The Power Rangers are on our side," she declared.

"I believe you," Frax stated, raising his mechanical arms. "We are here to stop the Zord."

"How are you guys going to stop a Zord?" Blake asked skeptically.

Wes and Eric stepped forward and Frax threw them each something that they attached to their wrists. "They have finally convinced me that Power Ranger abilities… all of them, can be used for good," Frax continued as Wes and Eric both morphed into Power Rangers.

"Woah!" Geo declared. "More Power Rangers!"

"More _good_ Power Rangers," Marah agreed.

"Time Force!" Dustin added.

"I missed this," Wes commented, looking over his red and white outfit.

"And I missed how your butt looks in tights," Eric agreed. Wes turned to him. "You know you like being teased," Eric insisted.

"Let's get to work," Wes said, pulling out a gun as Eric did the same. The two then ran off toward the Zord battle.

"Dustin?" Cam's voice called from his morpher.

"Oh, hey, sorry dude," Dustin realized, hitting his forehead with his palm. "I'm on my way!" He gave the others a quick look before streaking off.

Hunter watched him go before turning to Marah. "Marah, I was wondering… how you feel about Dustin," he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you… love him?" he clarified with a forced calm expression.

She sighed, looking away. "Well, as a child of the earth, I love everyone," she offered with a coy smile, "but… I know he's special and I also know he said he chose you."

"He told you that?" Hunter asked. "So, he doesn't…"

"If you're asking how he feel about me," she re[plied, "I don't think even he really knows how he feels about anyone. He says he doesn't love anyone yet, but I don't know." She frowned, thinking. "I think he's just a little confused right now."

Hunter looked down. "Confused… right," he agreed. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over to see Tobi.

"Dustin does care about you," Tobi whispered.

"I know," Hunter replied before addressing the Golden Guardians. "Frax, can some of your men make sure they get out of here safely?" he asked, gesturing toward Marah, Kapri, Geo and Destiny.

"Certainly," Frax replied, turning to some of the Golden Guardians, who surrounded them and proceeded to escort them.

"Oh, wait!" Marah said, stopping and grabbing something from Kapri before running over to Tobi. "Thanks for everything you did," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "As Dustin would say, you're awesome! Speaking of Dustin, can you give this to him?" she asked, handing Tobi a cd. "It's a recording of our performances. It even has today's on it and it might actually be our last here for a while, so…"

"I'm sure he'll love it," Tobi suggested, taking the cd from her.

"I hope so too," she agreed, waving as she and her companions were escorted out of the park just as a shadow passed overhead.

Hunter, Blake and Tobi looked up to see a wave of dark clouds rolling in as the rain started back up, harder this time. Tobi raised his wrist. "Tori," he addressed, "I think things are wet enough. You can lay off the rain."

"I'm not making it rain anymore, Tobi," Tori's voice corrected. "I can't control the weather all the time."

Tobi frowned, looking to Hunter, who seemed to be concentrating.

"It's a thunder storm," Blake said, looking to his brother just as a crackle of thunder made his point.

"And it's not a natural one," Hunter added as lightning struck a nearby tree.

"What does that mean?" Frax asked, checking to make sure his Golden Guardians were okay.

"We're going to find out," Tobi told him as Blake and Hunter streaked back out of the trees and toward the Zord battle.

Lothor and his allies were firing up at the Dragon Zord as Wes and Eric combined their weapons and also fired, but the Dragon Zord just ignored them as it continued to clash against the rangers' Megazord.

"Wes! Eric!" Circuit greeted, flying over to the two, Sensei still sitting on the robotic owl's head.

"Circuit!" Eric greeted. "We missed you."

"How can I help?" Circuit offered.

"Are you still in contact with the future?" Wes asked.

"Yes, but the others are in prison and the Zords have been destroyed," Circuit explained. "Even Trip is in prison…"

Wes' aim faltered for a moment.

"You okay?" Eric asked him.

"Yeah," Wes agreed. "We're just gonna have to do this on our own."

Eric put an arm on Wes' shoulder. "We're not on our own, Wes."

Tobi streaked to a stop and assessed the situation. "Aim at the Dragon Zord's chest," Tobi told the combined forces while raising his wrist. "Dustin, you guys keep focusing on the Dragon Zord's chest. If we all focus our attack in one area, maybe we can make a difference. Cam says that's where its power is coming from."

Hunter and Blake nodded, sending lighting toward the Dragon Zord. A stray bolt of lighting struck the ground near Goldwinger. "Ah! Watch it!" he complained.

"That wasn't us," Blake told him.

"Even all of their weapons combined won't be enough," Circuit told Tobi.

"Why not?" Tobi asked the owl.

"The Zord was banished to the center of the earth ten thousand years ago," Circuit explained. It has withstood the pressure of rock and magma all that time.

A bolt of lightning struck both Zords as thunder echoed through the now completely cloud covered sky. It had quickly become nearly pitch black under the dark cloud canopy.

Tobi raised his communicator again. "Cam, Circuit says we're not going to be able to stop the Dragon Zord."

"I heard," Cam's voice replied. "Circuit, in order to help the Power Rangers, you _must_ search your vast memory to find a way to penetrate the Dragon Zord's armor."

"I understand," Circuit replied. "You have to get off me now."

"What?" Sensei complained. "Oh, fine!" he agreed, hopping off Circuit and onto Tobi's shoulder.

"Here, take this," Circuit told Tobi, ejecting something from his body.

Tobi took the circuit panel in his hands, confused as Circuit flew off.

"What's Circuit doing?" Cam asked.

Tobi raised his wrist. "I don't know. He gave me this circuit board thing. I hope it's water proof."

"What does the circuit board say?" Cam asked.

Tobi turned the board around until he read, "Memory Panel 2." He frowned. "Why's he giving me his memory?"

"Of course," Cam realized. "Circuit is programed to help the Power Rangers."

"Yeah, so?" Tobi replied.

"It's also powered by a one and a half inch Quantum Reactor Drive," Cam explained.

Tobi looked up as Circuit flew directly toward the Dragon Zord. "You mean… Circuit's going to self destruct?" Tobi began to understand. "Everyone hold your fire," he told the others. "And, Shane, Dustin, Tori, get back."

"What's Circuit doing?" Eric asked, lowering his weapon.

"Why? What's—" Shane's voice began to ask just as a bright white explosion blasted out from where Circuit had been only seconds ago. Everyone was thrown backward, including the rangers' Megazord.

"Circuit! No!" Wes yelled, scrambling to his feet.

"Wes," Eric said softly, holding him back as bits of debris rained down on them.

"Circuit…" Wes whispered as Eric wrapped his arms around him.

"He was an adorable little thief," Goldwinger commented, sniffling.

"And awfully brave for a robot," Sensei added.

As the smoke cleared, the Dragon Zord had a hole in its chest. Sparks were shooting out as more lightning flickered overhead. "Reach in and grab the heart," Cam told Shane, Tori and Dustin.

The Megazord stuck its hand into the Dragon Zord's chest as the Dragon Zord clawed and shot fire at its attacker. But, as the rangers' Megazord pulled out a large silver and black device, the Dragon Zord froze.

"This ends here," Shane commented as the Megazord's grasp closed around the Dragon Zord's heart, crushing it. The Dragon Zord fell limp, its lights out and power finally gone.

"It's finally over," Lothor declared, "thanks to the Power Rangers. I owe you all an apology."

"It is not over," Frax corrected as a stream of black smoke poured out of the now incapacitated Zord and landed on the ground, where it formed Dr. Oliver, Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6.

"You'll pay for what you've done," Dr. Oliver growled. "You'll all pay."

"Take them out," Frax ordered, sending the morphed Wes and Eric along with the rest of the Golden Guardians forward.

"Those would be the Power Rangers we're here to defeat," Sensei told Lothor.

Lothor nodded before sending his aliens and kelzacks forward.

Meanwhile, Kimberly was quickly appearing and disappearing from one location to another, knocking down whoever she could reach. Billy was tag teaming with Alpha 6 against the thunder rangers and time force rangers. Dr. Oliver only briefly became solid long enough to send out blasts of lightning that mixed with the lightning coming from the clouds overhead.

As some lightning flickered through the dark, Tobi thought he saw a group of people gathered at the edge of the park, but he shrugged it off and raised his communicator. "Guys, I'm going to try to get to Doctor Oliver," he said. "The moment we touch, we'll both be out for a few seconds. That'll be your cue to grab his amulet."

Just then, Dr. Oliver launched a streak of black webbing toward the unmorphed Golden Guardians, who instantly fell forward. Tobi jumped to help them as he saw their eyes turn black. As he healed them, he noticed Kimberly and Billy both dimorph.

"What happened?" Billy asked, looking at his bare hands.

"I told you the power wouldn't last," Dr. Oliver reminded them.

Frax's and Lothors forces combined to take the opportunity to capture, Kimberly and Billy while Tobi used his amulet to recover.

"Don't move," Wes growled, pointing a gun at Billy.

"Give me a reason," Hunter told Kimberly, his arms crossed as Eric approached and pointed his gun toward her.

"You're all under arrest," Frax told them as Goldwinger helped Shimazu tackle Alpha 6.

"Tommy, help us!" Kimberly pleaded toward Dr. Oliver.

Dr. Oliver paused for a moment before becoming solid and raising his arms, but suddenly a giant hand grabbed him. It was the rangers' Megazord. "Tobi, do your thing!" Shane's voice called from Tobi's communicator.

Tobi shook off his lingering fatigue and streaked toward the hand clutched around Dr. Oliver, a hand that could have just crushed him and ended it. But, before he reached the Megazord, Dr. Oliver had already turned back into black smoke that seeped out of the massive metal fingers. Tobi jumped off the Megazord's hand, throwing himself directly into the black smoke.

Instantly, both Dr. Oliver and Tobi fell to the ground. Hunter streaked to catch Tobi as Blake streaked to Dr. Oliver. Shane, Tori and Dustin were all out of the Megazord in a flash and on the momentarily motionless Dr. Oliver.

"Got it!" Dustin shouted as he pulled at the amulet on Dr. Oliver's belt. "Dude, it's stuck!"

Tori pulled out her Ninja Sword and cut the amulet off Dr. Oliver's belt morpher, accidently drawing some blood from his stomach. She glanced nervously at Shane.

"Don't worry about it," Shane told her.

Dr. Oliver immediately tried to escape by turning into smoke, but nothing happened. There was a flicker of panic in his normally fierce eyes as lightning reflected in his pupils.

Frax approached Dr. Oliver. "You will not escape this time," he told Dr. Oliver, shooting something out of his finger.

Dr. Oliver's body twitched before he passed out.

"What was that?" Tori asked.

"I have made him unconscious, so that he will not have to suffer," Frax explained, rasing his opposite hand.

"Suffer?" Shane repeated.

"He is too dangerous to allow to live," Frax explained. "I will now kill him."

"Woah, harsh," Dustin commented.

"He deserves it," Hunter said, approaching with Tobi.

"Can't you just lock him up?" Tori asked.

"He is Doctor Tommy Oliver," Frax replied. "No prison could hold him. I do not understand your hesitation."

"Maybe… he can turn good?" Dustin suggested.

"The amulet corrupted him," a female voice suddenly commented. The others looked over to see Skyla.

"Skyla!" Shane declared, approaching her.

"I think he was evil to begin with, but…" Skyla continued, trailing off before looking at Shane and smiling. "I told you I'd e the one to find you."

He grinned back at her. "It's good to see you again."

Meanwhile, Tobi was distracted by a series of flashes. He looked over to see lighting striking all around them. But it was more than just lightning. With every flash, a figure seemed to appear. "Guys, we're in trouble," he told the others as a bolt of lightning struck directly in front of him. As the flash faded, a figure could briefly be seen until…

Tobi was thrown to the ground as he felt something grab at his neck. Tori was shot backward with lightning as sounds of gasps came from all around.

Recovering quickly, Tobi searched for Tori, but Blake was already helping her up. "Someone took—" she began before they were knocked over by a figure in black.

"What was that?" Dustin asked, as he slid across the mud. Tobi went to help him up, but Hunter was already there. Then another figure appeared and knocked them both back down.

Tobi noticed that the figures that appeared with the lightning were ninjas in black training outfits, specifically the ninja students from the Thunder Ninja Academy.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked Skyla as he helped her up.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Just caught off guard."

"Finally," a voice announced as a barrage of lightning bolts flashed all around, electrocuting everyone but the thunder ninja students. "I should have bonded with the amulets before, then they never would have been stolen." The voice came from Sensei Omino. He was holding the Sun Amulet, causing Tobi to check his neck. As expected, the amulet was gone.

"Can I see it?" Leanne asked, approaching her father as a ninja brought him the Shade Amulet.

"Here, but be careful," Sensei Omino warned, handing the Sun Amulet to Leanne while taking the Shade Amulet and studying it. "I have seen this power being wielded, but how?" he asked himself.

"Those aren't yours!" Skyla yelled. Everyone, including her, looked surprised by the authority in her voice. "At least, I don't think so…" she added.

"Actually, they are," Sensei Omino disagreed. Eric and Wes ran toward him, but two bolts of lightning threw them backward. As the two flashes of light appeared, so did Hunter and Blake's parents. They then took their place next to Sensei Omino and Leanne.

"Hand me your morphers," Omino told them.

"But they don't work now that our sons—" Mrs. Bradley began.

"They will work," Sensei Omino assured them.

"Wait, our parents have morphers?" Blake asked, glancing at Hunter, who had an equally surprised reaction.

Sensei Omino strapped one of Hunter and Blake's parents' morphers onto his wrist and held the Shade Amulet over it. The amulet latched itself into the top of the morpher. As it did so, the morpher turned black and silver and black shadows seemed to seep out from the morpher into his skin. "Ah!" he cried, dropping the other morpher to the ground with a clatter.

"Sensei," Mr. Bradley called, approaching him.

Sensei Omino raised his hand to stop Hunter and Blake's father. When he looked up, his eyes were entirely black.

"Dad?" Leanne asked.

He blinked a few moments, breathing heavily until his eyes cleared and he stood up straight. "I can… feel… the… power," he gasped. He raised a single finger, pointing it at a nearby tree. Instantly, the tree exploded into black ask. Next, he pointed at a kelzack and the same thing occurred.

"Stop this!" Lothor demanded. "What do you want? Gah!" He was nocked backward as the Bradley parents sent another wave of electricity out into the crowd.

"I have what I want," Sensei Omino stated, "but yet… I feel some longing for more…" He looked down at his hand and noticed it turn to smoke before reforming. "This power was wasted on Doctor Oliver. With my training and control, I will be unstoppable." He then looked toward his daughter. "Give me the other amulet," he told her.

Leanne had picked up the other morpher that her father had dropped and was attaching it to her wrist. "But I thought one of them was supposed to be mine," she protested, clutching the Sun Amulet.

"Do not make me destroy you," Sensei Omino warned, pointing a finger toward one of the Golden Guardians and then one of his own ninjas, both of whom were instantly vaporized.

"Dad!" Leanne yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Sensei," Hunter addressed. "You can't do this. The amulet is… changing you."

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "You and Leanne became like our family when our parents died. This isn't you."

"What are you talking about?" the thunder rangers' mother asked, glancing at her husband.

Leanne held the Sun Amulet over the morpher now attached to her wrist. "No!" Sensei Omino yelled. "Leanne, you are not ready!"

"But you did it and you promised," she reminded him.

"Your training is not complete and you are not strong enough," he insisted."

"Oh please," Leanne mumbled, letting the amulet lock onto her morpher, where it immediately began to glow.

"This is a mistake," Skyla whispered, seeming to sense something.

"Leanne—" Sensei Omino began to warn just as his daughter's entire body started to glow.

"Aaaaaaaaah!" she screamed, suddenly exploding.

A burst of fine gold powder flew out in every direction, as the Sun Amulet fell to the ground.

"Leanne…" Blake whispered, watching the powder land on him.

Hunter's eyes were wide in shock as his parents turned to study what was left of their sensei's daughter.

Blake grabbed Tobi by the shoulders. "Tell me you can…" Tobi blinked at him for a moment as he lowered his arms. "Of course not… Nevermind." He turned back around, watching the dust settle in the mud.

"I warned her!" Sensei Omino growled, kneeling over the remains of his daughter.

Hunter and Blake's parents forced some approaching Golden Guardians back with lightning as they watched their sensei.

Sensei Omino looked up momentarily before becoming a cloud of black smoke. The cloud rose into the air and flashes of lightning flickered through it before countless lighting bolts flew down, striking everyone below, including his own students and Hunter and Blake's parents.

As the smoke began to reform, Wes helped Eric up with one arm while aiming his gun with his other hand. But, before the smoke fully formed, it launched toward the two, knocking them to the ground in a blaze of sparks. Both their morphers suddenly exploded and they demorphed, twitching from the electricity running through their bodies.

"Are you guys okay?" Tobi asked approaching them.

Wes managed to nod through gritted teeth.

"Mom, dad," Hunter called. "You can stop this."

"How?" his father asked.

"Sensei Omino trained you as he trained up," Blake explained. "If you can convince him—" He dove out of the way as a streak of smoke shot past him.

"No one will stop me!" the smoke declared as it formed back into Sensei Omino.

"Raijin Omino," a voice addressed as a guinea pig hopped forward. "I am Kanoi Watanabe. We used to be friends, long ago."

"So it is true, you are a rodent," Sensei Omino replied. "Allow me to remove your burden." He pointed at the small Sensei, but Lothor knocked him out of the way as another kelzack was vaporized instead.

"Kiya," the small Sensei noticed. "…thank you. It seems I was wrong about you too…"

"You've changed a lot more than your appearance, Kanoi," Lothor replied.

"Yeah, well, I hope it's for the best," Sensei commented back, "because being a guinea pig is a pain in the—"

Blast! Sensei Omino began pointing randomly at members of the crowd as they recovered from the electrical attacks. One by one they were being vaporized. He grinned as he spotted Skyla. "I could not forget you," he said, pointing.

Shane dove in front of Skyla before she could be killed, but a chunk of her arm was still vaporized right off of her. "Tobi!" he yelled.

Tobi ran over to the two and immediately saw Skyla's arm. He grabbed what was left and concentrated on healing her. To his surprise, the rest of the arm began to regrow. As he fell to the ground in exhaustion, he instinctively reached for his amulet, but it wasn't there.

"Tobi," Wes called.

As Tobi began to crawl, he noticed that Goldwinger was missing part of one of the wings attached to his head. "Don't mind me!" Goldwinger insisted. "Help the others!"

Tobi did his best to crawl over to Wes and Eric, where he noticed that Eric was unconscious. Although he only needed minor healing, the back to back healing without enough time to recover or the amulet left him lying on the ground fighting to stay conscious.

While Hunter helped his brother up, Sensei Omino pointed a finger at him. Instantly, eh was thrown backward and demorphed. His body began convulsing.

"Hunter!" Dustin yelled, running to him.

Hunter and Blake's parents approached their fallen son. "Is he alright?" their mother asked.

"I'm… fine," Hunter gasped, reaching a very shaky arm out for Dustin to help him up.

Sensei Omino vaporized two of his own students before turning back to Hunter again, but the two parents stood their ground in front of their son. Blake and Tori streaked between the parents and Sensei Omino.

"Sensei, you have to stop what you're doing," Blake insisted.

"Why?" Sensei Omino replied. "I do not need you or your parents anymore." He raised a finger and aimed it at them.

Tobi saw this through dazed eyes at the same time Hunter stumbled backward and Dustin caught him, his back to Sensei Omino. "No!" Tobi choked out, too weak to do anything more than wiggle his fingers at Sensei Omino. Instantly, Sensei Omino's energy reflected back at himself.

Sensei Omino gasped, looking down. There was a large hole straight through his hest.

"Guys!" Dustin called as the others watched Sensei Omino fall to his knees.

Tori and Blake returned to Hunter and immediately noticed that he was coughing up blood.

"TZT, help him," Dustin pleaded.

Tobi could do little more than watch as Hunter stopped coughing and his head fell to one side. Shane ran up to Tobi, Skyla with him. "Find the Sun Amulet," Tobi told Shane.

He nodded. "I'll help you," Skyla offered.

"Dude, he's not breathing!" Dustin told the others.

Blake helped Dustin lower the crimson ranger to the ground while Tori looked around for Tobi before noticing him lying in the mud. She ran over to him and tried to help him up.

"Just pull me," he told her and she began dragging him, sliding him through the mud.

Blake looked between Hunter and Tobi. "Where's his amulet?" he asked.

"Does he need it?" Tori asked.

"He almost died saving Marah and her dog," Blake explained, "and that was with the amulet."

Tori gave Tobi a quick, horrified look.

"I just… need a moment," Tobi breathed. "Start mouth to mouth."

Tori immediately turned to Hunter's body, wiping the blood off his face and tilting his head back.

"Cam, we need medical help out here now!" Blake yelled into his morpher.

At that moment, Sensei Omino collapsed into a pool of liquid blackness. "We all surrender," Hunter and Blake's parents declared, holding up their arms and looking around at the Thunder Academy ninja students. "And, Blake, we're sorry…"

Blake glanced at the living versions of his parents before looking back to his brother.

"TZT, can you help him?" Dustin asked, kneeling next to Tobi.

Tobi looked up into Dustin's eyes. "Yes…" he replied slowly.

"All right, you are all under arrest," Frax told the thunder ninjas.

"Assist him," Lothor ordered his surviving allies as Sensei hopped onto his shoulder.

"The mask is a nice touch actually," Sensei commented as Lothor gave him an odd look.

"Where's Doctor Oliver?" Eric asked, looking around.

"We can't find the Sun Amulet," Shane explained as he approached Tobi with Skyla.

"I think Tommy took it," Skyla told them, kneeling over Tobi. "What can I do to help?"

"I don't know," Tobi replied.

"Then I should go after him," she realized, standing.

"I'll go with you," Shane immediately volunteered.

"No, I can do this," she assured him. "It's my responsibility. It's my… destiny," she added, vanishing.

Just then, Cam streaked to Hunter's side with his bright orange medical kit. He began examining Hunter's body. "He has no pulse," he stated. "Stand back." He brought out two electrical paddles and shocked Hunter. "I'll do chest compression if someone else continues mouth to mouth."

"I'll do it," Dustin volunteered.

"Dustin, do you know how to perform CPR?" Cam asked.

"Uh, no," he admitted, "but I can't do nothing while—"

"Then get out of the way," Cam insisted. "Tori, take over."

She was a bit caught off guard by Cam's forcefulness, but she obeyed and resumed mouth to mouth.

"Tobi," Cam addressed, while doing chest compressions, "if you can heal him—"

"Ah!" Tori screamed, raising her head. Her eyes were filled with terror.

"What's wrong?" Cam asked just as his hands fell into Hunter's chest. Hunter's body was slowly dissolving.

"I thought the suit protected him," Blake gasped.

"TZT, save him!" Dustin begged, reaching down and dragging Tobi by the arm the rest of the way to Hunter.

"Dustin, without the amulet, it could kill Tobi," Tori said, her eyes wide and shiny.

Dustin looked from Tobi to Hunter and then back again. "But I believe in Tobi…" he mumbled. "He has to…"

Tori looked at Dustin and then down at Hunter.

Dustin didn't say anything more, but, for Tobi, he didn't need to.

Tobi moved his hand weakly toward Hunter until he felt a hand stop him. "Tobi…" Tori whispered.

"I have to," he told her.

"You're my brother and…" she continued.

He forced a smile at that comment. "I can do this," he promised her.

She nodded and let his hand go before turning away. He knew he probably wouldn't survive and he wondered if she knew that too or if she believed in him as much as Dustin did. Dustin… More than Hunter, this was really for him. But then, this was for all of them.

Reaching out, Tobi felt Hunter's hand begin to flake and crumble as he touched it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. For a moment, the decay seemed to be too fast for him to keep up with. He just wasn't strong enough.

But then he saw it, the familiar glow of life burning and healing. Hunter's chest rose as he gasped for air.

"Hunter!" Blake, Tori, Dustin and Shane all declared as Tobi saw Hunter's eyes open and Dustin take the crimson ranger's hand. Then, Tobi closed his eyes and felt himself become weightless as everything went white…

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To be continued...

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_**Author's Note:**__ So, that was my violent, action-centric chapter, complete with death… I hope I didn't kill off any characters you grew too fond of. Really, it's not like it was some death fest. All in all, pretty much everyone made it through alive because that's what I felt most of my readers wanted. I certainly didn't kill off any of the main characters. Of course, not knowing who was going to die as you read the chapter probably nearly gave you a heart attack! Oh, you're wondering about Tobi aren't you? Well, I guess we'll see in the next chapter…_


	27. Consequences

**ATTENTION****: **_**Who should go to and stay in the REGULAR dimension, aka the GOOD Power Rangers dimension?**_** Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.**

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Author's Note: **This chapter is really different than any of the other chapters. One is that it follows multiple characters instead of centering around Tobi. Another is that I attempt to add some eeriness at one point and suspense or tension throughout the rest. It's mostly characters sorting out their feelings, but there is some action too later on. That's about all I can say without spoiling things! And, has anyone noticed that it seems like my chapters keep getting longer? The first chapter was about 2,000 words. This one is over 13,000!  
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Review Comments: **_

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess** _your constant support for my unfolding epic and for putting up with some crazy stuff that happens! In this chapter, you will find out what happens to Hunter, the lost amulets, Sensei Omino, Dr. Oliver and see how people react to… what happens to Tobi. But things will NOT be resolved. Please read it to the end before you want to kill me! I swear, I don't mean to almost give you heart attacks. So, as a warning, this is not a happy chapter. Oh, and a couple reviews ago you mentioned Dustin kissing Hunter and I said your mention of that gave me an idea of why Dustin did it and something more about Dustin's feelings. Well, this chapter reveals what that is (if you can understand Dustin)._

_Thanks _**FinalJudgement **_for both considering the story awesome and for showing sympathy for Tobi (he thanks you for this)! And I'm glad I'm able to shock and surprise readers. More unexpected stuff in here. And yay, I make you like PRNS even more! Is that possible? But then, I'm partial. It was more believable that the rangers were ninjas first rather than ordinary people who get morphers and suddenly know ninja moves. And, I don't think I'm giving anything away to say that, yes, they will get back to their dimension. I agree with your assessment on this. But remember, the results of the current poll determines who will be there._

_Thanks _**Magichalo** _for your constant insight into my chapters! You notice things I overlook. I know, how is that possible, right? But, anyway, there are some dark elements in this chapter and potential death (I leave their fates unclear). It's interesting that you say they were taking Tobi for granted and compared it to how the other Power Rangers treated him. I took this into account when I wrote some of the characters' reactions to what Tobi does and why. You'll probably notice a lot of elements from what you said buried here and there. Most significantly was you saying it would be interesting to follow the other rangers without Tobi. It was definitely different to write._

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**At the park, the rangers' Megazord battles against the seemingly indestructible Dragon Zord that can now breathe fire. After Tori makes it rain, Dustin sinks the Dragon Zord into the ground just as Mayor Lothor shows up. Goldwinger, Sensei and Tori convince Lothor that the Power Rangers are good and he joins them. Meanwhile, Marah is crushed by a tree and Tobi heals her. He also brings Destiny back to life, which nearly kills him in the process. When Frax and the Golden Guardians show up, Wes and Eric morph and help attack the Dragon Zord that managed to dig itself out. However, because the Dragon Zord's armor is too strong, Circuit ejects its memory panel and blows itself up in order to finally defeat the Dragon Zord by letting the Megazord crush its power supply. Dr. Oliver, Alpha 6, Billy and Kimberly emerge and fight, but the rangers manage to defeat them and steal Dr. Oliver's Shade Amulet, the source of his powers. But, then Sensei Omino shows up and steals both the Shade and Sun amulets. After using a morpher to bond with the Shade Amulet, Omino goes mad with power and, when his daughter Leanne dies trying to bond with the Sun Amulet, he starts killing at random. He is finally defeated by Tobi, but after Tobi heals Skyla, he is asked to heal Hunter, who is dying. But, without his amulet, it could kill him. And, as Skyla seeks out the amulet, Tobi heals Hunter, maybe at the cost of his own life...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 27 (Consequences)**

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"Dustin," was the first word out of Hunter's mouth as well as being the first person he saw. He also recognized the familiar warm, slightly calloused feel of Dustin's hand wrapped around his as the rain overhead stopped and the clouds parted. There was now a moon-lit starry sky above him, as the sun had apparently set during the storm.

Around him, Frax and Lothor were working together to secure the ninja students as well as Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6. Dr. Oliver, it seemed, had once again evaded capture.

Tori was the first to turn back to Tobi. He was lying on his back and there was a peaceful expression on his incredibly pale face. "Tobi," she gasped, scrambling to his side.

Cam quickly dragged his medical kit over to the twins and set up a light while Blake helped his brother sit up. "How do you feel?" Blake asked Hunter, rubbing at some of the drying crimson blood around Hunter's mouth.

"A little dizzy, but otherwise fine," Hunter replied, shaking off his brother's fingers.

"You really had us worried," Blake continued.

"You're pretty strong," Shane conceded. "Almost as strong as me, but not quite," he added with a grin.

"No, it was all TZT," Dustin disagreed, looking over at Cam and Tori bent over Tobi.

"He's not breathing and he has no pulse," Cam told Tori, who gave him a worried look before nodding and performing mouth to mouth.

"He said he could do it and… Cam," she whispered, looking over at him as he performed chest compressions. "His skin…"

Cam examined Tobi's skin as it started to dry and flake. He immediately reached into his medical kit and began to assemble a needle. "I'm giving him a shot of Epinephrine," he told her. "Don't stop mouth to mouth." He then stuck a needle into Tobi's arm.

"He'll be okay, right?" Dustin asked, approaching Cam.

"I don't know, Dustin," he replied sharply as he resumed chest compressions, "but stay back." He motioned for Tori to pause as he checked for a pulse.

"This is all my fault," Shane accused. "I never should have asked him to heal Skyla's arm. Sure, it was bad, but—"

"Shane, this isn't your fault," Tori told him. "If anything, it's mine. I could have stopped him, but you saw Hunter. He was…" She cringed. "I knew it would take all Tobi's strength to heal him." She stared down at Tobi, remorseful. "Speaking of Hunter, how is he?"

"I'm fine," Hunter said, sitting up. "How's Tobi?"

"he has no signs of life right now," Cam replied coldly, motioning Tori back as he used electrical paddles on Tobi's chest.

"Can I help?" Hunter asked, signaling for his brother to help him up.

"You can all help by letting me concentrate!" Cam yelled before calming himself.

"Cam…" Tori whispered.

"Guys, I just need to focus right now," he said in a more subdued tone.

"My friends, I may be able to assist," a voice called as the others turned to see Goldwinger approaching. He removed a small glowing button from his body. "I use this little device to regenerate. It's not just how I keep my youthful appearance, but it helped me regrow my wings after the Power Rangers attacked me years ago. I used it just now, in fact," he added, fluffing his wings.

"Let me see it," Cam asked, before adding, "please."

Cam studied the device before pulling open Tobi's training outfit. He noticed the panel from Circuit and cd from Marah and gave them both to Tori as he placed the device on Tobi's chest. The device blinked, then stopped.

Dustin reached down to take Tobi's hand in his. "Is it working?" he asked.

"Usually it's instantaneous," Goldwinger replied. "Maybe it wont' work on humans or maybe he's…"

"Don't say it," Shane told him.

Goldwinger just shrugged his winged arms.

"Cam, he's turning… _blue_," Hunter pointed out.

Cam seemed to realize something. "Blue…regenerating," he mumbled. "Tori, give me your morpher," he hastily demanded, removing Goldwinger's device and handing it back to him.

"What are you doing?" Tori asked as she gave Cam her morpher.

Cam quickly removed the communicator from Tobi's wrist. "Tobi said he was able to morph using your morpher," he explained as he strapped Tori's morpher on Tobi's wrist where the communicator had been.

"And the suit has a regenerating ability," she realized.

"Exactly," Cam replied, grabbing a screwdriver and jamming it into the morpher. He leaned down and shouted into the morpher, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

Suddenly a blue Power Ranger suit materialized over Tobi's body.

"There," Cam said, putting his equipment back into the medical kit. "We need to get him back to Ninja Ops."

"I'll help," both Dustin and Hunter said at the same time. They looked at each other and nodded before lifting Tobi's morphed body.

Just then, grumpy Sensei hopped over. "How is he?" he asked.

"It doesn't look good," Cam replied, closing his medical case. "I don't think…"

"He was like this after he brought Marah's dog—" Blake interrupted.

"Destiny," Dustin offered, lifting Tobi.

"After he brought Destiny back to life," Blake finished. "He just needs that amulet."

"I will get Lothor—my brother to help me look for it," Sensei offered. "It is the least I can do, after he helped me see… clearer," he added before hopping off.

"Skyla said she thinks Doctor O. took it," Shane mentioned. "I'm going to see if Frax knows anything. I'll meet you guys back at Ops."

"Okay, let's go," Cam told the others as Dustin and Hunter streaked back to Ninja Ops with Tobi.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later," Blake said as he noticed the living versions of his parents being handcuffed in the distance.

Tori followed his gaze. "Okay," she agreed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "but don't take too long. Just remember, your real parents are always with you." She then turned back to Cam and they streaked off together.

Blake watched her go before approaching his parents.

"Blake," his mother noticed as she was being shoved roughly into a black van with barred windows.

"Hold up," Blake told the Golden Guardians that where near his parents. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The Golden Guardians looked at each other before a voice agreed, "Sure." Blake turned to see Eric. "Listen, Wes and I owe Tobi a lot. If there's anything we can do…"

"You can help us find Tobi's amulet," Blake immediately suggested.

"I'll talk to Wes and Frax," Eric agreed before nodding toward the other Golden Guardians and leaving.

Blake turned back to his parents, who both had worried looks on their faces. "How is Hunter?" his mother asked.

"He's fine," Blake replied. "Tobi healed him."

His parents exchanged relieved looks. "Tell your friend Tobi thank you for us," his father replied.

"I can't," Blake said flatly. "He's dead."

His mother gasped.

"Son, we're sorry," his father said.

"Cam will figure something out or the amulet will be found," Blake assured them. "Tobi's not the weakling he looks like he is."

"Blake, we're sorry about those times we called you and your brother weak," his mother chimed in. "It was the only way we knew to make you stronger."

Blake gave her a confused look before figuring out she was talking about the other versions of him and his brother.

"Son, we've made our mistakes," his father began, "but we'd like to think we did at least two things right."

"What's that?" Blake asked.

"Adopting you and your brother," he father finished.

Blake sighed. "Look, I'm not your son," he told them. "My parents are dead."

"Blake," his mother whispered, "just because you're adopted doesn't mean that—"

"I'm talking about my adopted parents," Blake clarified.

"Blake Bradley, that is no way to talk to your mother," his father huffed.

"Chill," Blake warned them. "You both look… just like them and when I first saw you two, I felt something, but you're not them."

They both gave him a confused look.

"My parents are here too," he continued, gesturing around, "somewhere. They're ghosts or spirits or something. See, back in the dimension I come from, you're both dead."

"Oh, so… it is true," his father replied.

"Yeah," Blake agreed, "but not seeing them since I was a kid and then seeing you… alive…"

"We understand," his mother offered. "So, where are our sons?"

"Back in our dimension probably trashing the place," Blake replied.

"Oh," she mumbled.

"Yeah, so anyway," he said, taking a breath and looking away briefly. "I just wanted to know what you two know about the Sun Amulet."

"It and the Shade Amulet are both extremely ancient and extremely powerful artifacts," his father explained. "We honestly didn't think Sensei was going to use them, not with the dangers he impressed upon us, but you know Sensei's lust for power. It's… exhilarating at times."

Blake gave him a confused look. "So, you don't know how the healing properties of the Sun Amulet work?" he asked.

"Healing properties?" his mother repeated, looking at her husband.

He looked back at his wife. "it may be that the amulet has different powers depending on the user," he suggested.

"And Tobi could heal before he got the amulet," Blake realized. "he was only using it as a power source. SO, maybe something else…" He started to turn to go.

"Son, wait," he father called. As Blake turned back around, his father added, "there are two power discs in my back pocket. I want you and Hunter to have them.

Blake's mother looked at him surprised.

"You do know we're not really your sons, right?" Blake asked.

"I know," his father replied. "You two aren't pains in the ass either." A small grin curled up on his lips.

Blake gave him a surprised look. "Obviously you haven't met Hunter," he said, reaching into his father's pocket and removing two power discs. "What are these?"

"Attach them to your morphers," his father explained, "and they'll allow you to summon he Thunder Zords. They were meant as presents for you—for our sons, but they were belayed when we suspected that Dustin knew and was building Zords to complete with them."

"Also, we needed to keep giving them to our sons a secret from Sensei," his mother added. "And… we were waiting for them to mature. Maybe you ended up better off with out us in your lives."

"Mom," Blake began, "or… Mrs. Bradley, all the Power Rangers from this dimension were jerks. Maybe it's something in the water, but it's not all your fault."

"Thank you," they both said.

"Yeah, no problem," Blake replied, studying the discs.

"Will we see our sons again?" his mother asked hesitantly.

He stared at her. "I don't know. Your Sensei went on a killing spree," he pointed out.

His father frowned. "We took for granted that they would always be there, long after we were gone."

His mother nodded. "Blake, if you see our sons, tell them… we love them and… Sensei Omino was wrong about all of us. Our fates aren't bound to his. They'll know what that means."

"Sure," Blake agreed. "Bye…" He then turned and walked away, trying not to look back.

As he streaked back to Ninja Ops, Shane approached Frax, but he was interrupted by Wes. "Sir," Wes addressed Frax, "there's no sign of Doctor Oliver."

"Once the others are secure, you and Eric lead the team to track him down," Frax insisted.

"What about the amulets?" Shane asked.

Frax looked around. "I last saw them with that Omino person," he stated.

"What happened to Sensei Omino?" Shane asked. "Last I saw, he got blasted by Tobi. Is he alive?"

"I saw him melt into black goo after having a big hole in his chest," Eric answered, approaching. "There's no way he survived. And, Frax," he addressed, "Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6 are already in route to the detention center. We're working on rounding up the last of those ninjas."

"Excellent work you two," Frax commended before addressing Shane. "It is possible that Doctor Oliver has the amulets you are looking for."

"It's only one amulet," Shane clarified. "It's gold and I need it to save someone's life."

"We'll help you look if you help us catch Doctor O.," Eric suggested, glancing at Wes, who nodded.

"Let's do it," Shane agreed before pausing. "Wasn't Sensei Omino there?" he asked, pointing.

"Yeah," Eric agreed, shining a flashlight on the ground and kicking at the mud. "No black goo anymore."

"And no amulet…" Shane added.

"Let's go," Wes told them, glancing back once before they began their quest.

* * *

Back at Ninja Ops, Hunter and Dustin set Tobi on the table in the middle of the main room while cam activated the computer.

"Son, what has happened?" Cam's father asked, hopping closer.

"Hunter was dying and Tobi healed him," Cam explained, studying the computer screen, "but Hunter was literally turning to dust and now Tobi is…" He paused staring at the screen. "…dead," he finished, turning from the screen back to Tobi's morphed body.

"Cam, what are you saying?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, he can't be dead, dude," Dustin agreed.

Cam sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "The suit isn't healing him," he said, returning his glasses to his face. "It's only stopping his body from decaying."

Tori's eyes widened as she touched Tobi's body and stared down at him.

"Destiny was dead," Dustin pointed out, "like totally dead and Tobi saved her. Why can't he save himself?" He looked back down at Tobi. "He's awesome enough to…"

"I don't know," Cam answered, turning back to the computer. "I honestly don't know.

"Cam, may I speak with you?" his father asked.

"Sure," Cam said, sighing and then following the guinea pig out of the room.

* * *

"What do you want, dad?" Cam asked harshly once they were in his lab.

"I understand the stress you have been under, so I will let your tone go for now," his father told him.

"I'm sorry," Cam replied. "It's just been a really long day. Between being brainwashed, beat up, finding myself in another dimension, eating ice cream made out of human milk, readying the Megazord, tracking the Dragon Zord and my other father, preparing weapons, performing CPR on two different people…"

"It has been quite a day," his father agreed, "and you are in need of a rest, but I want you to consider something first."

"I'm listening," Cam replied, leaning his head on his hand.

"The Power Rangers from this dimension have access to our entire arsenal and may very well be using the Zords or other weapons against the city of Blue Bay Harbor at this very moment," his father explained.

"I know," Cam agreed, "but what can we do about it?"

"I is my understanding that Goldwinger has a Zord that can return us to our proper dimension," he continued. "We belong there and should leave at once."

"Normally, I would agree with you on that," Cam said, "but Tobi can't be moved between dimensions right now. The only thing keeping him from decaying is the suit and it fades when we leave this dimension. I can't guarantee that I can just realign the morpher and get it to activate once we're on the other side. What if the other Tori has hers active?"

"Son, Tobi is already dead," his father pointed out. "You said so yourself. You are not keeping him alive. You are merely preserving his body."

"What else can I do?" Cam asked. "I'm doing everything I can think of."

"And it is appreciated," his father replied calmly, "but you must consider that Tobi belongs here and it may be his destiny to die here."

Cam looked at his father sharply. "His destiny?" he repeated. "After everything we've been through, how can you still believe that you know Tobi's destiny? Dad, Tobi told me that he never felt like he belonged in this dimension. Then, he went to our dimension and he felt like he didn't belong there either. You know what I told him?" He didn't wait for his father to respond. "I told him he could belong in our dimension, that he could _easily_ belong."

"I recall telling him that you might be able to relate to his feelings of being an outsider," his father conceded.

"You always thought he belonged here, but with the other Power Rangers here," Cam continued. "You believe in destiny and fate and 'the balance of the universe,' but Tobi always believed that your destiny is what you make of it."

"But are you not trying to make his destiny for him?" his father suggested.

"Dad, I…" Cam sighed. "He may have loved Dustin, but it was me who he always trusted and… I may not have always appreciated him, or listened to him. His suggestions were helpful, but I treated him the way I do everyone sometimes. Maybe I thought he'd be around at least until you insisted he leave and, even then, I hoped you'd change your mind like you did when it came to me becoming a Power Ranger."

"I will admit that I was wrong," his father said. "I failed to see your true destiny and I agree that I do not know Tobi's destiny for certain, but I do know our destiny does not lie here."

"We're not going back without him," Cam told his father.

"Cam, please consider—" his father began.

"I have," Cam replied, "but it's not just me. It hasn't hit the others yet. Maybe they think that I'll somehow save him, but what if I can't? What then? No one wants to leave him here. He's our friend. He's _my_ friend…"

* * *

Back in the main room, Hunter was watching Dustin watch Tobi, though there wasn't much to see with the suit covering his body, when Blake streaked in. "Hey, any change?" Blake asked his brother.

"No," Hunter answered.

"Oh, hey bro, our parents gave us these," Blake said, producing the power discs. "Our other parents, I mean."

Hunter looked at him sharply. "I know what you mean," he told him, taking a disc. "I know who our real parents are. That's why I'm okay with not talking with… the posers."

"They're not all bad," Blake suggested.

"You were too young to remember them as well as I do," Hunter told him. "I think about them… a lot."

"But they're here," Blake said, waving his arms.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, frowning. "I'm not sure how I feel about them being _everywhere_ I go. I mean, you think they follow us into the bathroom?"

Blake blinked. "Man, I hope not!"

Hunter shook off the image of his parents watching him take a piss. "So, what do these things do?" he asked.

"They're supposed to summon our Zords if we attach them to our morphers," Blake explained. "I guess there was some sort of rivalry or something goes on between this dimension's Power Rangers and who was going to have Zords. I don't get it, but they might come in handy."

Hunter nodded, turning back to Dustin and Tobi.

"So, where's Cam?" Blake asked. "I wanted to tell him something."

"Sensei's talking to him," Hunter replied, staring at Tobi.

"What are you thinking about, bro?" Blake asked, noticing the look in his brother's eyes.

"I was thinking about the first time we met Tobi," Hunter recalled, still watching Tobi's body. "He walked into Storm Chargers with a huge chip on his shoulder. Me and you actually ended up fighting him. Who'd have known he'd end up saving my life?" He looked down and grimaced.

Tori walked over to the two brothers. "I think he only acted like that at first because he had to," she suggested. "Imagine living with those other versions of us. I'd be on edge all the time too."

"I always knew he was a good person," Dustin chimed in.

"Let me guess," Hunter said, "there was something in his eyes."

Dustin remembered using that line to describe why he had trusted Marah. "Nah, dude," he disagreed. "There was something in his _heart_." He pointed to his chest.

"Yeah," Tori agreed.

"Man, it's starting to sound like a funeral in here," Blake interrupted. "I don't know about you guys, but the first time I met Tobi, I thought he was a little punk with a bad attitude."

"Who you calling little?" Hunter asked him, standing so he could look down on his brother.

"I'm just saying!" Blake said, raising his arms. "You guys know he drove you crazy too. It couldn't have just been me."

"There were times," Hunter agreed.

"Bro, you were _so_ jealous of him, it was funny!" Blake insisted.

"At least I never kissed him in a closet," Hunter replied.

"So shouldn't have gone there, bro," Blake said, standing on his toes to try to get up in his brother's face, which wasn't working.

"Guys," Tori called, pulling them apart, "we call all agree that Tobi was… difficult sometimes, but I seem to recall a certain two brothers who tried killing Shane, Dustin and me twice, not to mention Sensei."

Hunter and Blake looked down, frowning.

"I just don't get it," Dustin said to himself, still watching Tobi.

"What don't you get, Dustin?" Tori asked, turning around.

"I don't get why he can like save everybody, but we can't save him," Dustin clarified.

Tori walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know," she told him. "Maybe we're not as… special as Tobi."

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled.

"This is what I'm trying to tell you guys," Blake said. "He's gonna be okay. Shane'll get the amulet and Tobi'll heal himself. I've seen it before." He looked at his brother for support.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Blake's right," Hunter agreed, "but I should be out there helping Shane look. I mean, it's my life Tobi saved. I owe him… for a lot more than that." He glanced at Dustin, who was too busy watching Tobi to notice.

At that moment, Cam entered with a scowl on his face before sitting in front of the computer.

"Any change?" Hunter asked.

Cam studied the screen. "There is a .05% increase in his cellular decay."

"What does that mean?" Blake asked, approaching him.

"It means, the suit isn't stopping his body from decaying," Cam explained. "It's only slowing the process."

"You don't mean he'll be like a skeleton under there?" Dustin asked, studying Tobi's helmet with a horrified expression.

"Eventually, yes, Dustin," Cam replied, "but it won't happen anytime soon."

"Hey, Cam," Blake interrupted. "My parents—this dimension's version of them anyway—said they didn't think the amulet really had healing properties."

Cam turned to him. "Tobi healed his burns before he had the amulet to draw energy from," Cam realized. "Energy…" He turned back to the computer and typed.

After a moment, Blake said, "You're welcome," and walked way, giving Tori a "Cam's being Cam again" shrug as he passed.

Tori looked back at where Cam had come from, making sure his father hadn't followed him in. "What did Sensei want?" she asked.

"He wanted to tell me I'm wasting my time," Cam replied in a resentful tone," that Tobi is _destined_ to die here and we should go back where we're supposed to be."

"He didn't say that, did he?" Tori asked, mortified.

"Yes, he did," Cam answered. "He's worried about what the other versions of us are up to. So, am I, but…"

"I know," Tori agreed.

"Tori," he said slowly, "have you considered the possibility that I might not be able to save Tobi?"

Tori cringed. "Cam, we have faith in you, but we also have faith in Tobi."

"Faith," Cam mumbled. "You might not know this, but Tobi chose you over his own sister."

"No, I know," she replied, blinking. "I… consider him my brother too and… that's why I have to believe he'll survive this." She wiped some stray tears from her eyes. "And, Cam, he was always spouting off all this wisdom that he said he got form you. And he always defended you, even when you didn't need defending. He said that, if he wasn't in love with Dustin, he'd like you best. He cared a lot about you. He _cares_ a lot about you. You have to believe he'll get through this… somehow."

He looked at her. "I don't have the luxury of faith," he told her. "I just need focus. I have to be prepared for anything." He turned back to the computer.

"You really care about him, don't you?" she asked.

He just nodded.

"I know you like to keep this 'too cool' professional distance," she accused, "but you were making so much progress coming out of your shell. Tobi said you were misunderstood and 'sensitive,' but I wonder if you want to be that way. You told me you felt unappreciated, but you became more than the green Samurai Ranger. You became a friend, a very special friend."

"I'm to this our dimension what Tobi was to his dimension," he commented quietly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Before he met up, he was ignored or ridiculed here in his dimension," he explained. "He felt unappreciated. But, then, when he came here he finally felt something more… and he said he related to me. And, I think I finally understand him."

"Cam…" she whispered, as he stared blankly at the screen.

He turned back to her. "Tori," he began, "under the circumstances, I feel there's no point in waiting to ask you this, so I'm just going to come out with it."

She looked at him quizzically.

He took a breath. "You know how I feel about you," he continued. "You are more than just the most level headed Wind ranger. You are also more than just a friend to me. And, I need to know, those times that you gave me a… kiss on the cheek or said something like, 'You always looked good in green,' was I reading more into that than I should have?"

"Cam…" she replied, blushing and fidgeting. "Uh… I like you a lot…"

He looked at her hopefully.

"As a friend," she finished.

"Oh," he replied.

"But that's not just a word to me," she continued. "You're very important to all of us. And you're important to me too."

"No, I understand," he said quickly. "I really knew as much. It's just that, with the thought of all the things I never told Tobi, I felt like I needed to… not keep that inside forever."

"Sure," she agreed. "And, Cam, I consider Tobi my brother, but I still feel closer to you. I hope that helps."

"Thanks," he mumbled. "He's… like a brother to me too." He sighed, looking back at the computer and typing. "And, like a brother, I didn't always fully appreciate him. I just want you to know that I… appreciate you."

She put a hand on his shoulder as he worked. "I know," she said softly, a small smile curling up on the side of her mouth. "So, what are you working on?" she asked, gesturing toward the diagrams that were flashing by on the screen.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to channel the energy from this," he said, revealing the Samurai Amulet around his neck, "into Tobi's body. Ah," he said, spinning round and walking over to and opening a panel on the other side of the room. He pulled out a bunch of wires and began connecting them to some nearby device. When he was done, he dragged the device across the room, wires dangling behind, and adjusted what looked like a laser on top of it. He then removed the green Samurai Amulet from around his neck and placed it inside the laser before aiming it at the morpher on Tobi's wrist. He then went back over to the computer and pressed a series of buttons.

The laser shot a green light at Tobi's morpher until the morpher began to glow. Then Tobi's suit began to glow.

"Is it working?" Tori asked him.

"The decay rate hasn't changed," Cam replied. "I'm going to try increasing the power flow."

Suddenly the morpher flashed and Tobi demorphed. Cam groaned, quickly deactivating the machine as Tobi's pale, lifeless body again lay before the others. In the light of Ninja Ops, his appearance looked worse and his condition seemed suddenly much more grim.

Cam immediately began repairing Tobi's morpher.

"What happened?" Dustin asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Tobi. He ran a finger along Tobi's skin and saw white flakes fall off.

"The morpher just overloaded," Cam explained. "I'm fixing it." He looked up at Dustin quickly, realizing he was keeping what Tori called his "professional distance" again. It was just so easy to slip into that, especially when he was tired and overworked, but he added, "Don't worry."

"I'm going to help Shane," Hunter announced, looking at Tobi and cringing.

Dustin suddenly stood up. "Don't go!" he told Hunter.

Hunter looked at the emotions playing out in Dustin's eyes. "I owe him my life," he told Dustin.

"I just…" Dustin began. "I don't want you to leave… not after…"

Hunter approached Dustin and placed his arms around him. "I'm okay now and I will come back," he assured him, "but this is something I have to do."

"But, I…" Dustin mumbled.

"Hunter will be okay," Tori told Dustin, "but if you want to go with him—"

"No, I can't leave TZT," Dustin insisted.

"But you can't do anything for him here," Dustin pleaded.

"Please, just let me stay with him," Dustin pleaded.

"Sure," Tori agreed, giving Hunter a confused look.

"I'll, uh, be back then," Hunter said, heading toward the exit.

Dustin ran up to Hunter and hugged him. "Good luck," he said, releasing him.

"Thanks," Hunter replied, leaning forward and giving Dustin a quick kiss on the lips.

Dustin blinked as he watched Hunter go.

"You can all go do whatever if you want," Cam offered, still repairing the morpher, "maybe get some sleep," he added, rubbing his forehead. "You're right, there's nothing more you can do here."

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "I'm beat. Hey, mind if I crash in one of the training rooms?"

"Be my guest," Cam agreed with a dismissive wave.

"Hey, Tor, you wanna join me?" Blake offered.

She gave him a strange look. "Uh, I'll be okay," she replied, turning to Dustin as Blake frowned and left the room. "How about you?" she asked Dustin. "You look like you could use some rest too."

"Nah, I'm cool," Dustin disagreed. "I just like need to know he's gonna be okay, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Tori agreed. She watched his eyes dart between the exit and Tobi. "You really care about both of them, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed before looking her in the eyes. "Tor, can I tell you a secret?"

Tori raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had any secrets, Dustin."

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm serious," he insisted.

"Of course, you can trust me," she assured him.

He fidgeted for a moment. "You know how I like kissed Hunter and then I kissed Marah and…"

"Yes," Tori agreed, "I'm familiar with your kissing spree." She grinned.

"You know why I didn't kiss TZT then?" he asked.

"Because you didn't want to do it in front of all of us?" she suggested.

"It's not just that," he disagreed. "See, TZT was the one who told me I was leading people on by making them care about me and stuff when I didn't care about them back."

"He said that?" she replied, surprised.

"Yeah, but…" he continued. "They thing is I _do_ care about them. I like Hunter a lot, I like Marah a lot and I like TZT a lot too. I just don't love any of them. I told them I just liked kissing, you know, for fun, but it was more than that. I felt something… here." He knocked on his chest. "And I was afraid if I kissed TZT, he'd figure out it was just a kiss. He's always been able to like almost read my mind and I knew he'd figure out I was still leading everyone on because I like them all too much…" He looked down at Tobi and pouted. "I wanted it all. Man, I'm so selfish!"

"Oh, Dustin," Tori said, hugging him. "Your only problem is that you care too much. Have you stopped to think that maybe it's not that you don't love anyone, but that you love everyone?"

"You can't love everyone, Tori," Dustin told her.

"Why not?" she disagreed. "If you love life, then why not everything that's alive?"

"But I don't wanna kiss _everybody_," Dustin insisted. "Like, I wouldn't want to kiss you."

"That would be awkward," she agreed.

"Hey, don't be bagging on my kissing skills," he protested. "I happen to be an awesome kisser."

"I'll take your word for that," she conceded, "but there are other ways to show someone you care." She looked down at Tobi. "You can save their life, for example."

"Like TZT," Dustin agreed. "He'd give his life for anybody. I mean, he didn't even like Hunter that much. He really cares about everybody."

"For Hunter, right…" Tori replied, thinking.

"He didn't do it for Hunter," Cam said, not looking up from the morpher he was working on.

"What?" both Dustin and Tori asked.

"Dustin, you didn't exactly try to keep it a secret that you chose Hunter over Tobi," Cam continued. "He did it because… he thought you cared more about Hunter than him. He risked his life not for Hunter but for you, for who he thought would make you happy. You chose Hunter, so, he saved him. It's that simple."

"I knew I shouldn't have chose," Dustin replied. "I _felt_ it, but I did choose and it seemed like it made sense. I was so _selfish_!"

Tori turned away, covering her face.

"Tori, what's wrong?" Dustin asked.

"I was the selfish one," she realized. "You chose Hunter, but so did I. I knew what could happen to Tobi, but I let him do it to save Hunter. Sure, I tried to tell myself he could do it and be alright, but I knew the risk and I let him take it. What kind of a sister am I?"

Cam sighed, looking up from the morpher. "Tori, it's not your fault," he insisted. "Tobi would have done it even if he had to knock you out to get to Hunter. Just forget I ever said anything."

"No, dude, you're right," Dustin disagreed. "TZT loved me and I couldn't make myself love him back. So I like went with Hunter just because… I wanted someone different from me and I thought TZT was like me, but he's so much better than me. I was stupid, okay?"

"Dustin, had you chosen Tobi instead of Hunter, Hunter would be dead," Cam reminded him.

Dustin's eyes grew wide and moist.

"Like I said, just forget I brought this up," Cam insisted before declaring, "There." Tobi's body immediately remorphed. "Now, back to the drawing board," he said, heading back to the computer.

Tori watched as Dustin's eyes got a far away look. She wondered if she should just leave him alone, but decided to ask, "What are you thinking about?"

Dustin made some motion with his hands. "I told TZT that he _had_ to save Marah," he explained, "and that he _had_ to save Destiny and that he _had_ to save Hunter. But, why did he _have _to?"

"Because it was the right thing to do?" Tori suggested.

"No, Tor," he disagreed. "It was because I didn't want any of them to die. I couldn't deal with it. _I_ couldn't deal with it. But I didn't think about what would happen to TZT. You said I love everybody, but how can I love everybody _except_ for Tobi? I want to love TZT…" He then began crying.

Tori held his head against her as he cried. She wanted to say something, but all she could do right then was be there for him. If only she were Tobi, she thought. He'd know just what to say right now…

* * *

Meanwhile, Hunter streaked to the park, where he found Mayor Lothor with the grumpy Sensei on his shoulder. Both of them had flashlights, one full-sized and one small and they were following Goldwinger, who had a metal detector.

"Have you guys found anything?" Hunter asked them.

"No, sorry," Goldwinger replied. "How is your friend?"

"Not good," Hunter replied just as Goldwinger's metal detector began beeping like crazy.

"Ah, I found…" Goldwinger began as Lothor and Sensei shined their flashlights in front of them and then ran the lights up higher. They were standing at the feet of the giant, lifeless Dragon Zord. "Oh," he mumbled, disappointed. "At least we know the metal detector works. I got it quite cheep."

Hunter raised his morpher. "Shane," he called, "where are you?"

"I'm with the Golden Guardians and we're heading in the direction the Dragon Zord was going," Shane explained. "We're about to enter what looks like a carnival near that empty field where they're planning on having the US Action Games this year."

"I'll join you," Hunter told him before addressing Lothor, Sensei and Goldwinger. "If you guys find anything, contact Frax. I'll be with the Golden Guardians. And, Goldwinger," he added, "can you really travel between dimensions?"

"Yes I can!" he declared happily.

"Good," Hunter replied. "I heard Cam say he was worried about what the other versions of us are up to back in our dimension. You think you can check on things?"

"Will do, buckaroo!" Goldwinger agreed, raising his arm and saluting him. "But, if things look too dangerous, I'm out of there. I'll just use my MOTHs."

"Right," Hunter replied, confused. "Anyway, see you guys." He then streaked off. "Did you see how _hot_ that blonde studmuffin looked?" Goldwinger asked Lothor and Sensei. "I thought I might faint!"

Lothor and Sensei just stared at him.

* * *

Shane found himself walking through an unlit carnival at night with Eric, Wes and about half of the Golden Guardians that had survived Sensei Omino. It was hardly an inviting setting, but, as a Power Ranger, he was getting used to this kind of thing. "I don't know about you guys, but this place is registering as off the chart on my creepy meter," he commented.

"You're not scared, are you?" Eric joked.

"No way," Shane disagreed.

"Who goes there?" Wes called, shining a light between two vacant game boots.

"Skyla?" Shane asked, approaching her and opening his visor.

"We're near one of the amulets," she whispered.

The others looked around. Wes motioned for some of the Golden Guardians to spread out and circle around.

"You can sense them?" Shane asked her.

"Yes, but I can't really describe it," she explained.

"It might be Doctor O.," Eric suggested to Wes. They both pulled their weapons out.

"I really wish we could morph," Wes commented, gesturing to his broken Chrono Morpher.

Shane watched Skyla staring at a nearby building. "You sense something in there?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied, still concentrating.

"Guys, we're going inside," Shane told Wes and Eric. "Check around back."

The others nodded as Shane looked at the sign over the building that read, "Fun House." Somehow he doubted it would live up to its name.

Shane and Skyla entered the building and were immediately surrounded by nothing but blackness.

"Here," Skyla offered, raising her hand. A glowing ball appeared in her palm that slowly began illuminating their surroundings.

In front of them were dozens of mirrored reflections of them. Creeping forward, their reflections walked with them. Shane looked at Skyla, but she just shrugged. When he looked back, though, he felt something wasn't quite right. "What's that?" he asked in a whisper, pointing toward a mirror that should have held their reflections. Instead, buried between the overlapping reflections of Shane, Skyla and her glowing ball of light was a single reflection of a figure entirely in black.

"It's here," Skyla whispered.

Shane nodded, drawing his Hawk Blaster and approaching the figure. As he stepped closer, though, it looked more like a shadow than a figure. There was no definition at all to it.

Then the shadow began to melt down the surface of the mirror, revealing Shane and Skyla's shocked reflections behind it.

Splat! The shadow leapt from one mirror to the next, plastering itself onto each surface like a black puddle before jumping to the next, each one progressively closer to Shane and Skyla.

"Get back!" Shane told Skyla as he began blasting at the liquid shadow. One by one, the mirrors shattered, but he could still make out the shadow leaping forward. He backed up, retreating toward the entrance as fragments of broken mirrors hit the floor, reflecting the red glow of the laser from his gun.

Eventually, the two were at the entrance and Shane scrambled out of the building, pulling Skyla behind him.

"Shane, what's up?" Hunter asked, approaching.

"There was something in there," Shane replied, standing back and waiting for whatever it was to emerge from the "Fun House."

"Something, right…" Hunter commented, removing his Thunder Staff.

Shane looked at him, frowning. "It was a… shadow?" he explained. "Look, I know it sounds lame, but—"

Suddenly Skyla gasped as she looked down at the ground. Shane followed her gaze to see a shadow stretching out from her _toward_ the light, which of course didn't make sense.

He quickly shoved her back, forcing her to drop the glowing ball in her hand. As it hit the shadow, a screeching sound filled the air and the shadow spattered out like black water. Hunter immediately shot electricity above the ground, but the light from the sparks only served to reveal that whatever it was had disappeared.

Nearby, a trash can fell over. The three turned to see a black cat hissing at them, its yellow eyes reflecting the light from a dim overhead lamp. It froze for a moment as its eyes stopped reflecting and seemed to turn as black as its body. Then it lunged at them.

Hunter swung his Thunder Staff at the cat, but the can just latched onto his staff before leaping off of it toward Skyla.

Shane darted in front of the cat, knocking it to the ground, where it began choking before falling over. "Dude, I didn't hit it that hard," he insisted.

Suddenly the cat's body began to melt before exploding out in a burst of ash.

"Guys, we need to go," Eric called, running over to them. "We just got a call that the van carrying Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6 crashed. It's only a couple miles away from the detention center, so units have already been dispatched, but it's probably Doctor O., so we're heading there now."

"But what about what's here?" Shane asked, still staring at the ground.

"I guess he was never here," Eric replied, heading toward the carnival's exit.

"There is _something_ here," Skyla told Shane.

"Yeah, I know," he agreed, "but I get the feeling it's not what we're looking for."

"I'll agree with you on that one," Hunter offered as they followed the rest of the Golden Guardians.

"So, how's Tobi?" Shane asked Hunter.

Hunter frowned. "Cam hasn't found a way to help him yet," he answered. "He looks pretty bad."

Shane huffed before looking at Skyla. "He's the most selfless person I've met. I see why you chose him," he told her.

"I didn't choose him," she disagreed.

"Oh, destiny, right?" he asked.

She thought for a moment before grinning. "Right," she agreed. "If I had a choice, I'd choose you…" She suddenly looked away, embarrassed.

He stared at her for a moment before blinking and fidgeting. "Yeah, so let's go," he told them, a small smile on his mouth.

"Do you think Tobi saved me because Dustin chose me over him?" Hunter suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Shane replied. "No, dude, why would you think that?"

Hunter sighed. "Because, I was thinking, I was there helping save Destiny and her body was… burning from being shocked so many times, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stand to see that look in Dustin's eyes. I'm sure it's the same reason Tobi saved Marah and it's probably why he saved me."

"What, and you think Dustin wouldn't have been pleading for someone to save Tobi's life?" Shane asked. "It's just Dustin can't stand to see anyone hurt, but he's not really aware of the consequences of his actions. I'm sure he had no idea Tobi would be like he is now. He can be pretty dense sometimes."

"Are you saying he's stupid?" Hunter asked defensively.

"No, dude," Shane disagreed. "He's my best friend and I love him to death, but he's not really aware of some things, if you catch my drift."

"Maybe he just believed in Tobi too much," Hunter suggested.

"I think you'll find Dustin is aware of a lot more than you think," Skyla offered.

The two looked at her with surprised expressions.

"He sees something in Tobi that tells him Tobi can do anything," she continued. "But, just because you're aware of something, doesn't mean you can't still take it for granted."

Shane stared at her with the same look he had in his eyes when they first met.

"What?" she asked, embarrassed.

"It's just… for a moment there, you reminded me a lot of the other Skyla," he replied.

"The other Skyla?" she repeated.

"Oh, yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair. "You see, the other Karminion I met was… you, as in the other dimension's version of you."

She nodded, thinking. "And you loved her," she commented.

He blushed and fidgeted, which only made her grin.

"That's why you acted that way when we met." She suddenly became serious. "Shane, I'm not the same person as her. Based on what you said, I really wish I were. She's everything I try to be and she still hold your heart…"

He blushed at her for a moment. "That… can change," he told her, earning him a surprised look from both Skyla and Hunter.

"So, uh, Skyla," Hunter began, glancing at Shane, "can you still talk to my parents? I wanted to ask how they feel about me and… Dustin."

She looked around. "They aren't with you," she told him, frowning. "They told me they were always with you."

"Oh," Hunter realized, disappointed. "Well, maybe they're with Blake."

"Maybe," she agreed, thinking.

* * *

When the group arrived at the site of the overturned Golden Guardians' van, Wes and Eric motioned for the Golden Guardians to fan out while Shane, Hunter and Skyla approached the van.

"He's probably long gone by now," Shane suggested, looking around, "with the Sun Amulet."

"You mean, Doctor Oliver?" Hunter asked. "Where would he go? He can't go back to the Dragon Zord."

"There is something here," Skyla told them, concentrating.

The others looked around until Hunter spotted a shadow creeping across the road. "Check it out," he told them.

"What, did it follow us?" Shane asked, pulling back out his Hawk Blaster.

Just then, a black SUV sped up, coming to a quick stop before Frax stepped out. "Wes, Eric," he called. As the two approached, the shadow leapt toward another Golden Guardian.

"What is it, sir?" Wes asked, running up to Frax.

"The mayor says he has Doctor Oliver and the others surrounded back at the park," Frax explained. "Hop in."

"Why would Doctor O. return to the park?" Eric asked as he and Wes entered the SUV before it sped off.

Shane nodded toward Hunter before grabbing Skyla and streaking off. In their haste, they had momentarily forgotten about a black shadow that have dove toward a Golden Guardian.

The man dressed in navy's eyes slowly turned black before he turned and headed for the park.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Ninja Ops, Tori approached Cam, who was still studying the computer screen in front of him. "Do you know what these things are that Tobi had?" she asked, showing him the memory panel and cd.

"One is Circuit's memory panel," Cam replied, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "The other, I'm not sure."

"Cam, you look terrible," she told him.

He opened his eyes to glare at her. "Thank you for your honestly, Tori."

She frowned. "I just mean, your eyes are bloodshot and I'm sure you can use at least a nap," she explained.

He returned his glasses to his face. "I'm fine," he assured her.

She gave him a skeptical look. "How about we see what's on the cd?" she suggested.

With a slight grimace, he stuck the cd in a drive below the computer. "It's a music cd," he stated coldly, preparing to eject it.

"Maybe it will help you relax," she suggested.

"I don't need to relax," he assured her.

"Cam, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way," she told him.

"Fine, I'm playing it," he said as horrible music began coming from the computer speakers. "What's that noise?" he asked, cringing.

"That's… Marah and Kapri singing," she recognized.

"Don't tell me the entire cd is full of this… 'music'," he said, grimacing as he clicked through the tracks. "It's like cats dying… very painful deaths."

"Dustin seems to have acquired a taste for their… style," she told him.

"Dustin eats whatever isn't moving," Cam replied. "I doubt his musical tastes are much more evolved."

"Wait, stop," Tori called. "Go back to the last one."

"Finally, someone who can sing," he commented.

"That's Tobi's voice," she recognized.

"Tobi?" Cam repeated, listening as he turned back to Tobi's morphed body lying on the table. Dustin had fallen asleep next to him. "Dustin can sleep through that noise?"

"This isn't noise," Tori argued. "Tobi's singing is really good."

"Not that," Cam said, turning back to her. "I agree, he has real talent. I meant the… other tracks."

"Cam, listen," she told him.

"he definitely puts emotion into his performance," he offered.

"He's singing about Dustin," she realized.

"That's not surprising," Cam replied, sighing.

"You're still jealous of him," she commented.

"Of Tobi?" Cam asked.

"No, of Dustin," she corrected.

"Well, he is more… likeable than me," Cam conceded.

"Only because he's more outgoing," Tori suggested. "He almost had his identity revealed on the front page of the newspaper because he's such an attention seeker."

"And I'm the Grinch," Cam declared.

"Hey, I happened to like the Grinch when I was a kid," she insisted.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked at Dustin and Tobi. "If I were Tobi, I think I'd be happier with you than Dustin," she hypothesized. "Don't get me wrong. I would never trade Dustin for another Shane in a million years, but he can be a little clueless. If Tobi is anything, it's defiantly not clueless."

Cam nodded.

"And I'm sure you wouldn't lead him on or go on little kissing sprees," she continued.

"No, I don't believe I would," he agreed.

"Because you're responsible, Cam," she told him, giving him a little hug. "We all love that about you."

Cam's cheeks flushed. "But I'm no Dustin," he added as she released him.

"True," she agreed, "but you chew with your mouth closed."

Cam cringed. "Well, I suppose it comes down to the fact that… you can't choose who you love." He looked at her for a moment before turning back to the computer screen.

"Point taken," she agreed, watching him. "So, can you do anything with this memory board?" she asked.

"The transmitter that Circuit used to communicate with the future was on his body," Cam explained, "and the memory doesn't include any medical information or technical advances outside of the Power Rangers." He glanced back at her. "I suppose I could use it to come up with new weapons."

"I guess that's something," she replied, "but it doesn't help Tobi."

"No, it doesn't help Tobi," he agreed.

She watched Dustin sleep, his head resting on Tobi's chest. "So, if you can't choose who you love," she thought outloud, "Dustin choosing Hunter over Tobi really doesn't mean anything."

"It meant something to Tobi," Cam reminded her.

"Sure," she mumbled, watching her best friend sleep next to her brother.

* * *

At the park, Mayor Lothor and his remaining forces had Dr. Oliver, Kimberly, Billy and Alpha 6 surrounded. When Hunter and Shane with Skyla streaked in, they approached Lothor.

"It doesn't look like any of them can morph," Lothor told them as they arrived, "but they have hostages and are asking for an exchange."

"Exchange?" Hunter repeated, noticing the hostages now that he was closer. He immediately spotted that Goldwinger was one of them. "Why didn't Goldwinger go back to check on the other dimension?"

"He did," Lothor corrected, "but he said there was a Zord battle going on. Naturally, he didn't stay."

Shane and Hunter exchanged worried looks.

"So, what do they want for the hostages?" Shane asked.

"It's not just the hostages," Lothor commented.

"They want to trade amulets," the Sensei on Lothor's shoulder interrupted, "but we don't have the other one."

Shane looked toward Dr. Oliver quickly. "They have the Sun Amulet!" he shouted, beginning to push past Lothor.

"Wait," Lothor warned, blocking his path. "They're threatening to kill the hostages."

"With what?" Shane snapped. "Their hands?"

"Kimberly Hart has some device that she already used to kill two of my kelzack aides," Lothor explained.

"But we need that amulet to save Tobi," Shane insisted.

"Is one life really worth all the others who could die?" Lothor asked.

Shane growled in frustration.

"It depends on the life," Sensei commented.

"Sensei's right," Hunter agreed, "but if we had the other amulet…"

"We don't," Shane pointed out.

"We can fake it," Hunter suggested.

"With what?" Shane asked.

"I don't know!" Hunter snapped.

"I'll offer myself," Skyla said.

"What? You can't!" Shane insisted.

"I have some powers that I can offer and…" She paused. "I can feel that my time is coming."

"You're…" Shane's eyes widened. "No, it can't! Not yet!"

"When I pass on, I'll be able to give him a power maybe even grater than the amulet," she explained.

"I won't let you!" Shane yelled, grabbing her arm.

She looked at him with confusion and surprise in her eyes.

He immediately released his grip. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I just don't want to lose you… again."

"I can't stop what's happening to me, but I can try to save Tobi," she replied quietly.

Shane's eyes began to glisten as he looked to Hunter for a less partial opinion.

"I don't know," Hunter told him.

Shane grit his teeth. "I can't choose between you and Tobi. I can't let one of you die."

She frowned. "It's not death," she told him, "at least not for me."

Shane looked at Hunter, who reluctantly nodded. Shane then took a deep breath and stepped forward. "We have an offer to make," he told Dr. Oliver while producing Skyla. "This is… a Karminion. She had the ability to pass on her powers to someone else."

"I want the Shade Amulet," Dr. Oliver growled, "not some cheep alien knockoff."

"But the Shade Amulet is cursed," Skyla argued.

Shane looked at her, fighting back an array of emotions. "She's right," he agreed. "Look what it did to Sensei Omino." He took a step back. "I'll show you what… another Karminion gave me." He then activated his Battlizer mode.

The crowd's eyes widened as Shane's body covered with armor and he flew into the air before firing a massive beam of energy, vaporizing a tree and picnic table while leaving a huge hole in the ground.

As he landed, he deactivated the armor. "None of us know where the other amulet is anyway," he continued, "so it'll at least end the stalemate."

Dr. Oliver thought for a moment as Shane and Hunter noticed the Sun Amulet in his hands. Just then, Frax and the Golden Guardians finally arrived. They ran over to Lothor, who filled them in on the situation.

"I won't agree until I have the power she supposedly offers," Dr. Oliver announced.

Shane looked back at the others in frustration.

"I have the power you seek," a voice from the crowd of arriving Golden Guardians declared. One member with black eyes stepped forward. "And you have the power I seek." Suddenly the man sputtered and fell to the ground, convulsing before melting and exploding.

"What's happening?" Frax asked as a puddle of blackness leapt toward Dr. Olver.

Dr. Oliver dove out of the way while Kimberly tried using some device in her hand to stop the hopping shadow. Instead, the liquid shadow knocked the device out of her hand.

"Now!" Goldwinger yelled, smacking Kimberly to the ground before flying out of the way of the black puddle. "Sorry, girlfriend!" he apologized.

"Move in!" Frax immediately yelled, sending in his Golden Guardians as Lothor's forces also advanced.

Sensei flipped over to the device Kimberly had dropped and hastily retrieved it.

Meanwhile, Shane, Hunter and Skyla scrambled to find Dr. Oliver and the Sun Amulet. "There he is!" Hunter yelled.

Shane pulled out his Hawk Blaster and shot Dr. Oliver in the leg, forcing him to the ground as kelzacks dove after a nearby Billy.

"Bond with the amulet you have!" Billy yelled as he was tacked football style.

"No!" Kimberly called. "Tommy, it will kill you!"

"You have no choice," Alpha 6 said before being shot by Eric and Wes. "It is the most logical optio—option—I—I—I—Error."

Dr. Oliver reached out, placing the gold amulet over his belt morpher just as a shadow sprang toward him.

"I can't get a clear shot," Shane complained, as there were too many aliens in the way.

"The advantage of electricity is it arcs," Hunter said, reaching up and sending a bolt of electricity bending down on Dr. Oliver. Just as the blackness reached Dr. Oliver, the Sun Amulet was thrown clear of him, where it sparked on the ground.

Skyla was the first to dive for it as Dr. Oliver's eyes went black. "I have it," she called before falling forward in pain.

Shane streaked to her side and examined her. "Where are you hit?" he asked quickly.

"It's not that," she said, catching her breath. "It's starting…"

"What's start—" Shane began before realizing what she meant. "Hunter!" he called.

Hunter streaked over to them as Dr. Oliver stood up.

"Take her and the amulet back to Ops," Shane told him. "Save Tobi and see if Cam can help save Skyla."

"What about you?" Hutner asked.

"At last, a body I can dwell in permanently," Dr. Oliver announced in a deep voice while examining himself.

"I'm going to take this guy out once and for all," Shane said, standing and motioning Hunter to leave.

Hunter nodded, taking Skyla in his arms and instantly streaking off.

"But who has taken the Sun Amulet?" Dr. Oliver breathed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Shane mocked. "You're going down, Dr. Oliver."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken," Dr. Oliver breathed. "I am not Doctor Thomas Oliver. I am Sensei Raijin Omino."

The others paused as they heard this.

"How's that possible?" Shane asked.

"I underestimated the power of the Shade Amulet," the figure that looked like Dr. Oliver explained. "It left me unable to take on human form when I was hit with my own power. But now… Now I am so much more than either Oliver or Omino. I am Dark Omega, the end of all things."

"You've got to come up with something better than that," Shane taunted.

"Oh, I will," the figure replied with a smile before shooting out a black tentacle, which penetrated straight through Billy, who immediately fell forward.

"Tommy!" Kimberly shouted. "I know you're in there! If you can hear me, fight him! Fight—" She gasped, falling forward, as she was also speared through the chest.

Another tentacle came toward Shane, but he dove out of its way. Instead, it stabbed through Shimazu. As more tentacles shot out, stabbing through the crowd, Shane activated his Battlizer mode and flew into the air.

"Stand back," he warned the others before firing full strength down at Dark Omega.

When he landed, there was just a giant hole with smoke pouring out of it.

"Thank you," Lothor said, approaching.

"We need medical assistance in the park, now!" Frax called into a communicator in his had as he assessed the situation. Suddenly a black tentacle shot right through his chest, sending sparks flying out.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" a voice asked as a figure rose out of the smoky hole.

"Not good," Shane mumbled to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hunter streaked into Ninja Ops carrying Skyla. Dustin was asleep with his head on top of Tobi's morphed chest. There was drool dripping from his mouth and, despite the circumstances, Hunter couldn't help but grin.

"Hunter," Tori greeted.

"Why did you bring her?" Cam asked, spinning in his seat.

"She's dying," Hunter said quickly.

"I'm just… changing," she corrected.

"But first, I have the amulet," Hunter added, producing the Sun Amulet.

Cam didn't say a word as he ran over and deactivated Tobi's morpher.

Dustin's head snapped up. "Woah, dude," he grumbled. "I had the most whacked out dream ever," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I dreamed TZT was…" He opened his eyes and stared down at Tobi's pale, lifeless form as Cam reached out for the amulet.

Hunter gave Cam the amulet, which he then forced into Tobi's hand.

The four waited.

"Dude, isn't it supposed to glow or something?" Dustin suggested.

"Cam, Dustin's right," Hunter pointed out.

Cam ran over to the computer.

"Anything?" Tori asked.

"No change," Cam said, turning from the screen.

"Why isn't it working?" Dustin demanded.

"Cam, what if we try to attach the amulet to his morpher?" Hunter asked.

Tori gasped. "When Leanne did that, she exploded!" she reminded him.

Cam looked at her and then back to Tobi. "I'm out of ideas," he confessed.

"Cam, maybe we can come up with something else," she suggested.

"I believe it'll work on him," Dustin insisted.

"Dustin, you believed he'd survive saving Hunter," she reminded him. "What if it kills him?"

Dustin frowned, staring at Tobi.

"He's already dead," Cam pointed out.

"Shane to Cam," Shane's voice came from Cam's morpher. "Is Tobi okay yet? Because we have some _serious_ problems over here."

"Hold on," Cam told Shane, lowering his morpher and looking at the others.

Just then, Sensei entered the room. "I have heard Shane's call for assistance," the guinea pig stated as he approached. "Hunter, you will find your brother asleep in one of the training rooms. Tori, you will join them."

"Sensei, what about Tobi?" she asked.

Sensei turned to Cam. "Son, do you have a solution?" he asked.

"I might," Cam admitted, "but it could just as easily permanently destroy Tobi's body."

"But could it save him?" Sensei asked.

"I don't know," Cam replied.

"Yeah, it can," Dustin declared.

Sensei looked from Dustin to Cam. "Do what you feel you must, Cam, but do it quickly."

Cam looked at the others and then down to Tobi. He took a breath before lowering the amulet toward the morpher on Tobi's wrist.

Tori turned away, suddenly burying her face in Hunter's chest. He was caught off guard but decided to put an arm around her for support.

Dustin watched with wide, hopeful eyes as Cam positioned the amulet until…

A hand stopped Cam. He looked up to see Skyla holding his wrist. "That won't work," she told him softly.

The others just stared at her in surprise.

* * *

Tobi opened his eyes and sat up. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any pain at all in his body. But, as he blinked at his surroundings, he noticed that everything looked hazy.

He was at the park and there were humans, aliens and kelzacks running around as what looked like Dr. Oliver sent black tentacles out of his body.

Tobi immediately jumped up, ready to do what he could to help when he realized he couldn't feel his feet standing on anything. He looked down and gasped. His entire body was glowing and transparent. He raised his hands and stared through them. "What's happening?" he asked outloud.

"Thank you, Tobi," a voice told him. He turned around to see two glowing, transparent adults standing in front of him. Squinting, he recognized them.

"You're… Hunter and Blake's parents," he realized. "But not the ones from this dimension, the spirits."

"Yes," the woman said with a smile.

"What you did for Hunter was incredibly noble and brave," the man added. "We owe you our deepest debt of gratitude."

"You mean, healing him?" he asked before realizing something. "Why can I see you?"

The woman looked at her husband before turning back to Tobi. She paused for a moment, watching him. "Tobi, you're dead."

He gasped, again looking at his ghostly form. "Dead?" he repeated. "But Hunter's alright?" he asked.

"He is perfectly healthy," Mr. Bradley assured him.

Tobi looked down at his hands again. "So, I…" he mumbled. "I guess I knew this could happen. But, everybody's happy that Hunter's okay, right?"

"They are," Mrs. Bradley replied, glancing at her husband.

"So, why are you two here and not with your sons?" Tobi asked. "I thought you never left their side."

"We had to make sure you weren't alone when you awoke," she replied.

"I appreciate that," he told her before thinking. "Look, I have a confession to make," he said, looking between both Bradleys. "I didn't do it for Hunter, not really. I did it for Dustin."

"Your motives are not as important as your actions," Mr. Bradley replied.

"Yeah, I guess the outcome's the same," Tobi agreed, looking at his body. "So, can I see them? Like to see if they're okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Bradley agreed. "But first…" She turned to her husband.

"First," Mr. Bradley continued for her, "we may have a way to bring you back."

"Back?" Tobi repeated.

"Back to life," Mrs. Bradley finished.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ The device Goldwinger uses to regenerate is actually used in the episode The Wild Wipeout, so I didn't just make that up. I did make up the song that Tobi sings, which was in chapter 25, but I've pasted the lyrics below. And, as you can see, by having Tobi be dead, I was able to do something I haven't done in any other chapter, which is to keep changing locations and following other characters. What did you guys think of that? And, what did you think of the other elements, such as the whole shadow entity thing? What would you like to see next?_

_And here's what Tobi sang (yes, I made it up, but I think it's a fitting way to end this chapter):_

I've been on the outside looking in  
I've been at a crossroads wondering where to begin

I wish I was carefree  
I wish I was cocky  
I wish I was crazy enough to believe in you and me

But dust to dust we're born  
what we know not for  
The one thing I know for sure  
is I've been waiting for more…

You're heart's like a lion with it starts to roar  
You're brave as a falcon when it learns to soar  
You're smart like a dolphin who knows much more  
You're love's like the thunder echoing from a distant shore  
And now I know, you're the more I've been waiting for

You've been on the inside looking out  
You've been at a crossroads without a single doubt

You know you're carefree  
You know you're cocky  
You're even crazy enough to believe in destiny

But dust to dust we're born  
what we know not for  
The one thing you know for sure  
is I'm not what you've been waiting for

You're hearts like a lion…

(at this point, Tobi wanders offstage.)


	28. Spirited Survival

**LAST CHANCE TO VOTE****: **_**Who should go to and stay in the REGULAR dimension, aka the GOOD Power Rangers dimension?**_** This poll closes before I put up the next chapter and create a new poll, so if you haven't voted yet, please do! Don't leave anyone you care about behind!**

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I've created a **deviantART** account that I may at some point upload pictures to illustrate my story to. The link is at the top of my profile, click on Rogue Ranger.

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_**Author's Note: **I try to do something a little different with this chapter by trying to create simultaneity, where I go to another location or perspective and have the events that led up to the events from the previous perspective. It's my way to having a lot happen at once without it being confusing, so let me know how it comes out!_

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_**Review Comments: **_

_Thanks _**FinalJudgement **_for declaring Tobi "fang-tastic"! And, yes, I agree that it seems to be possible to love Power Rangers even more. I should add on the note of ninjas getting the powers being more realistic that the Ninja Storm costumes are a lot better than many of the others. They have less white and some silver sleeving. The worst has to be Lost Galaxy with its white and then black zigzag, blah! Anyway, I have only ever seen bits and pieces of Naruto. I know it's been hugely popular for a while, but I don't follow it. I did look up and see that Tobi is a character from that ninja-themed series, but I honestly was just trying to come up with a male version of Tori._

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess**_ for your suggestion about Dustin's feelings for Tobi! You'll notice that Cam mentions what you wrote, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what Dustin does. I will say that I like your idea a lot. The only problem is that I will need to create a poll to see who everyone else thinks Tobi should end up with. Yeah, I know, but that's the way it works! And, I'm glad you liked the idea of Blake and Hunter's parents helping to bring Tobi back to life. You'll see in this chapter what they have in mind, but there may be complications. Oh, and I'm glad you liked Cam's sweet side. He's an underrated character and I like to treat him to some appreciation from time to time._

_Thanks _**griffin blackwood **_for reviewing both my previous chapters (and my other story)! Yes, things are pretty intense at this point in the story, but I still listen to what my readers want. So, due to your love of Kimberly (even when she was beating up Tobi you were cheering for her!), I have decided to allow her to redeem herself. I can't say more without spoiling this and the next chapter, but I hope you appreciate that. ;)_

_Thanks _**Magichalo** _for your constant feedback! I always wait to start writing until I hear from you (no pressure!). I'm glad that I was able to make the action sequences clearer this time, but I do try to still have plenty of drama. Things will mellow out at some point. There just happens to be a lot of things that I need to resolve one way or another. I will consider more drama, but at least you say you're hooked on the action. As for Dark Omega, I thought about what you said about it feeling like déjà vu and tried to make it clearer what is going on, though it's not really revealed in full until the next chapter (which, against my usual tradition, I have already started writing). And, lastly, I have decided to save some of the characters I had stabbed last time, but I did like your idea of Tobi encountering spirits, so I came up with something…_

_Thanks _**Ruon jian **_for becoming a new reviewer of my story! And a review that's a question? To answer your question without spoiling this chapter, I can say that, no, the solution Cam has (bond the Sun Amulet to the morpher on Tobi's wrist) is not the same as what the Bradley's propose to Tobi. You'll have to read on to discover what their solution is…_

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi saves Hunter's life, but at the cost of his own. Cam tries to save him, but only manages to keep his body from decaying. The rangers discover they have many regrets when it comes to Tobi. Tobi's dimension's version's of Blake and Hunter's parents give them discs for their morphers to call on the Thunder Zords. Meanwhile, Shane and Hunter try to find the Sun Amulet to save Tobi. Shane finds Skyla, who can sense the Shade Amulet, which turns out to be bonded with Sensei Omino in a way that prevents him from taking on human form until he and Dr. Oliver become one entity, Dark Omega. As the new figure begins sending black tentacles out of its body and through people's chests, Hunter returns to Ninja Ops with Skyla, who is nearing the end of her current life cycle, and the Sun Amulet while Shane tries to take on Dark Omega. But, as it turns out, the Sun Amulet doesn't heal Tobi. Meanwhile, Tobi wakes up to find he's dead and a spirit, just like Hunter and Blake's parents from their dimension, who tell him they are grateful and that there may be a way to bring him back to life...**_

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******Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 28 (Spirited Survival)**

* * *

"Maybe you can be more specific," Cam told Skyla while glancing down at her hand on his wrist as he stood ready to connect the Sun Amulet to Tori's morpher that was on Tobi's wrist. "Why won't it work?"

She paused, looking at him for a moment. "I can just feel that it will destroy his body right now," she said.

"Right now?" Hunter repeated as Tori hastily removed herself from his chest and wiped her eyes conspicuously. She then straightened up, regaining her composure.

"Something's missing," Skyla replied, thinking. "His life force is gone." She gasped, clutching her chest.

"What's wrong?" Dustin asked her.

"I'll be okay," she said.

"Skyla may be sensing that Tobi's spirit has left his body," Sensei suggested, "meaning it may be too late to save him."

"No way!" Dustin protested.

"Sensei, we respect your insight, but we can't accept that Tobi's… beyond saving," Tori insisted. "There has to be hope."

Cam looked from Tori to his father, not saying anything, but giving him his classic "I told you so" look, a look typically reserved for the rangers. He sighed before setting the amulet aside and picking up his screwdriver. Bending down, he called, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" He then walked over to the computer and began typing.

"Dude, you can't just give up!" Dustin pleaded, running over to Cam.

"I'm not giving up, Dustin," Cam said without looking away from the screen. An image of the park filled the screen. Sensei somersaulted to a spot near the computer and studied the screen.

Just then, Blake entered the room, stretching. "Bro, what's up?" he asked his brother.

"The amulet didn't work," Hunter replied somberly.

"Rangers," Sensei addressed, turning from the computer. "Go to the park. Shane has requested assistance."

"We're on it," Blake declared.

"What about Dustin?" Hunter asked.

"Hunter's right," Tori agreed. "Since he can't morph…"

"Under the circumstances, Dustin will remain behind," Sensei concluded. "And, rangers, morph before you reach the park. As Shane stated, the situation is quite serious." He turned to his son. "Cam, Tori will need her morpher."

Cam reluctantly walked over and deactivated the morpher on Tobi's wrist before handing it to Tori. "Please don't take too long," he told her quietly.

"Don't worry, Cam," she assured him. "I won't and… I know you'll find a way to help my brother."

Cam gave her a small smile in response.

Before they left, Hunter turned to Skyla. "Skyla, since you can talk to our parents, maybe they can help put Tobi's spirit back in his body," he suggested.

She frowned, looking around. "Your parents aren't here," she admitted.

Hunter exchanged a concerned look with his brother. "But you told us they said they were always with us," he insisted.

"I know," she said. "I don't know where they are."

"Rangers, you can resolve this later," Sensei warned.

"Yes, Sensei," they agreed, streaking out of Ninja Ops.

Cam turned in his chair to glance back at Dustin.

"Dude, what did I do?" Dustin asked defensively.

"I just expected more of a protest out of you about being left behind," Cam explained.

"Yeah, I would be all over wanting to go save the Twilight Zone, but…" Dustin's voice trailed off as he looked down at Tobi's lifeless body.

"Yeah, but…" Cam agreed, turning back to the screen.

"Will he be okay not being morphed and all?" Dustin asked, staring at Tobi's white skin and blue lips.

"I don't know," Cam replied hesitantly before turning to his father. "I'm surprised you don't feel like helping in the park is a waste of time we could be using to get back and save our dimension," he told his father.

"While we are here, the rangers must still help where they are needed," Sensei replied.

"Let me guess," Cam said with a sigh. "If we're here, it's because we're destined to be here, so we are destined to help."

"Precisely, Cam," Sensei agreed.

Cam couldn't help but sigh a second time.

Skyla clutched her chest again, causing Cam to spin in his chair.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "It comes with being a Karminion. We never stay in one form for long."

"How many forms have you had?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. "Over a hundred, I think."

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"A hundred?" Dustin repeated. "Woah. Was any of them like really freaky looking?"

"I once had twelve arms," she replied.

Dustin's eyes widened.

"But each time I end a life cycle, I can use the energy from my old form to pass on a power," she explained.

"Like the Battlizer," Dustin realized outloud. "Hold up! Can you use your powers to make Tobi okay?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." She paused. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Dustin gave Cam a quick, worried look, but Cam seemed to be thinking of something.

"When you say you use energy from your old body, what do you mean?" Cam asked.

"I think my old body itself becomes the energy," she explained. "Or part of it anyway."

"The matter is converted into energy," Cam realized outloud, returning to his computer and pulling up a 3D model of Tobi.

"Dude, why's Tobi naked?" Dustin asked, gesturing toward the screen.

"When I was searching through the other Dustin's files fro things I could use, I came up with a virtual replicant of Tobi," Cam explained.

"Virtual Reptile?" Dustin repeated.

"Virtual replicant," Cam corrected, "like Cyber Cam. Anyway, I'm going to try experimenting on it. Unfortunately, it wasn't programed with any clothes, so maybe Skyla would prefer to wait in the other room."

Sensei hopped over to her. "I will take this opportunity to speak with Skyla," he said. She nodded as he led her out of the room. "And, son, do not neglect the rangers at the park. They should remain your primary concern."

"I understand," Cam told him before looking at Dustin. "What about you?"

"Dude, I've seen him naked," Dustin replied. "I can handle it."

"Alright," cam said before pressing a button.

Instantly, a Cyber Tobi appeared. "Oh, Great Yellowness," he moaned. "You're so _evil_! Have your way with me. You're my master. Make me scream!"

Dustin's eyes grew so wide, they looked like they might pop out of his head. "That's—that's not… TZT would never say that!" he insisted.

"Yes, I know," Cam agreed, "but that's how the other Dustin programed him." He then addressed, "Cyber Tobi, like down on the floor, close your eyes and do not speak."

"You're not my master," Cyber Tobi mocked. "I only bottom for the yellow God of Earth."

Cam groaned. "Dustin, would you mind…?"

Dustin frowned. "Just do what Cam said," Dustin told Cyber Tobi.

"Your wish is my command, master," Cyber Tobi replied, lying on the floor.

"Why'd TZD make TZT act like that?" Dustin asked.

Cam took a moment to process what TZD stood for. "I don't know," he admitted.

"It's not right!" Dustin insisted.

"Why not?" Cam asked. "It's just a computer program.

Dustin made a disgusted face. "TZD was a jerk to TZT," Dustin said. "He's always bagging on him or bailing on him and then he like bangs a fake one of TZT? I don't get it."

"Based on what Tobi told me, the other Dustin knew how Tobi felt about him and could have began a relationship with Tobi at any point," Cam explained, "but maybe he didn't want to face the consequences of a real relationship. Maybe he wanted something he could turn off at night."

"TZT said he didn't think TZD's a coward," Dustin replied, "but I think he's like a total coward. The lame poser was probably afraid Tori would so mess him up."

"She does have that kind of a reputation," Cam agreed.

"And the evil me can't even get TZT right," Dustin complained, tilting his head. "I think the real TZT's got a bigger one than that."

"What is bi—Oh," Cam realized, picking up Tobi's communicator.

"Whatcha gonna do with that?" Dustin asked.

"Before giving this to Tobi as a communicator, it was designed as a mock-up morpher," Cam explained. "I'm going to try binding the amulet with it and seeing what it does to Cyber Tobi. I don't' want to risk the real Tobi."

Dustin offered him a smile. "Thanks, Cam."

Cam just gave him a weak smile in return as he worked.

"Dude, you're supposed to say 'you're welcome,'" Dustin reminded him.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "You're welcome." He paused, looking up. "Dustin, you know I would never be one to give relationship advice of any kind, but…"

"What is it?" Dustin asked curiously.

"If somehow Tobi does pull through," Cam began, "maybe you should consider giving him a chance."

"A chance?" Dustin repeated.

Cam sighed. "If you want to love him, just be there for him. Treat him how you've treated Hunter. Have you ever been out on a date with Tobi?"

"I guess not," Dustin agreed, "but what about Hunter? And what about Marah?"

"I know you're afraid to lose what you already have with them," Cam replied as he attached the communicator to Cyber Tobi's wrist, "but I don't believe you will. And, even if things do change, isn't Tobi worth it?"

Dustin thought for a moment, scrunching up his face in concentration. He looked from the naked Cyber Tobi to the pale real Tobi. "Yeah, dude, he's worth it." But then he pouted, his eyes moist.

"Don't worry, Dustin," Cam assured him, trying to sound more optimistic that he really felt. "We won't stop trying to save him." He then attached the Sun Amulet to the communicator on Cyber Tobi's wrist.

The two watched as the communicator and then Cyber Tobi began to glow. Cam returned to the computer and studied the readings until the screen went blank. "What happened?" he asked, turning around to see that Cyber Tobi was gone.

"It just went… poof!" Dustin explained, making an explosion motion with his arms.

Cam looked down at the amulet sitting alone among a pile of gold dust. "So much for the mock-up morpher," he commented. "At least I didn't use Tori's morpher." He frowned, thinking. "I wonder if I'll be able to reinitialize Cyber Tobi."

Dustin grabbed Cam's arm. "Dude, I changed my mind! Don't put the amulet on TZT!"

Cam offered him a reassuring smile. "I won't," he promised, "but I really don't know what to do."

"Yeah, me neither," Dustin agreed. "Guess you don't know everything."

"No, Dustin, I don't know everything," Cam conceded.

Just then, Cam's morpher beeped and Shane's voice came on. "Cam, we need help!"

* * *

Moments ago, morphed versions of Tori, Hunter and Blake streaked to the park. They approached Shane as he was dodging what looked like black tentacles shooting out of a black-eyed Dr. Oliver.

"What's happening?" Tori asked while dodging a tentacle.

"Sensei Omino didn't die," Shane explained quickly. "He became some black thing that took over Doctor O.'s body and now calls himself Dark Omega."

"Why Dark Omega if he's Sensei Omino?" Blake asked.

"How would I know?" Shane replied with a shrug.

"I think the Shade Amulet is doing something to his mind," Hunter suggested as he nodded toward his brother and the two combined their Crimson Blaster and Navy Antler to make the Thunder Blaster before firing at Dark Omega. "And maybe there's still a part of Doctor Oliver in there too," he added as their weapons had no effect.

"Shane, did you try your Battlizer?" Tori asked while slashing at a tentacle as it headed toward Goldwinger, who looked like he was running from one injured human or alien to the next.

"Yeah, and it had no effect," he replied.

Tori dropped her sword as it turned black and melted upon contact with the tentacle. "How do we beat this guy?" she asked.

"You don't," Dark Omega answered for the others as he sent out a cloud of blackness that made seeing impossible. There wasn't even a star in the sky.

"Cam, we need help!" Shane yelled into his morpher.

After a moment, Cam's voice replied, "I'm on it, Shane. It looks like the area is blanketed in some kind of a field that neutralized light. All my photonic-based scans show nothing, including infrared. I'm switching to sonic-based scans."

"Ah!" Tori gasped as something hit her in the dark.

"Hurry up, Cam," Shane warned.

"I've got it," Cam replied. "Shane, dodge left."

Shane did just that as he heard something whoosh past his side. He realized that he could sense it move through the air.

"Hunter and Blake, duck!" Cam called. "Tori is down. Shane, she's about five meters to your right. I'll work on disrupting the field."

"You may not be able to see me, but I can see you," a voice echoed, laughing.

"Tori!" Shane called, feeling around for her. He sensed motion through the air and rolled out of the way.

"Shane, duck right," Cam's voice called from his morpher just as something shot past where he had just been.

"Thanks, Cam," Shane muttered sarcastically. He sensed two figures moving through the air and swung around, preparing to fight.

"Ow!" Hunter yelled. "That was my foot, bro!"

"Sorry, I can't see," Blake replied. "I'm making lightning and everything."

"I know!" Hunter told him. "Stop it already!"

"Oh, sorry bro," Blake apologized.

"Blake, Hunter, over here!" Shane called. "Tori's somewhere around here."

The three began scrambling around on the ground. Suddenly Shane sensed a barrage of objects approaching through the air and he grabbed Hunter and Blake, knocking them over.

"Guys, duck!" Cam called. "Now dodge left." But Shane was already moving them out of the way. "No, right. Leave a gap between the three of—that's it."

Shane had pushed the brothers apart just as tentacles shot between them.

Just then, the darkness began to fade slightly as a loud mechanical whirling sound filled the air. The others looked up to see Dustin's Lion Zord with its mane spinning. "Let's hurry up and smoke this dude so we can help TZT," Dustin's voice came from the rangers' morphers.

"Oh, so it's smoke you want," Dark Omega called as suddenly his entire body began to grow until he was as tall as the Lion Zord.

"Woah!" the others gasped as the now enormous figure opened his mouth and a gust of black gas came out. The Lion Zord promptly started sparking and melting.

"Dustin, get out of there!" Shane called into his morpher.

"Tori!" Blake yelled, running over to her now visible body. She was unmorphed and lying unconscious on the ground.

"Is she okay?" Hunter asked, joining his brother. No sooner had Hunter asked this then the Lion Zord exploded, pieces of it crushing the ground they landed on before those pieces then began to melt.

"Dustin!" Hunter screamed, standing and running toward the wreckage, but Blake immediately streaked in front of him and tried to hold him back. "Out of my way!" he growled.

"Aw, man, my Zord!' Dustin complained. The two brothers turned to see Dustin standing next to them. He looked around, noticing Tori. "Tori!" he yelled, streaking to her side. "Guys, I don't think she's breathing!"

The others rushed over and noticed a black hole through her chest.

"I'm on my way!" a voice sang as Goldwinger bounded over. He was holding a blinking device and placed it on Tori's chest. "You, start mouth to mouth," he told Hunter. "You, distract Dark Omega," he then told Shane.

Hunter immediately bent over Tori before his brother stopped him. "I've got this," Blake told him, pressing his lips to Tori's.

Meanwhile, Shane activated his Battlizer mode and again blasted away at Dark Omega.

Hunter watched as Tori's chest healed, the blackness vanishing. "Thanks," he told Goldwinger with an audible sense of relief.

"I felt bad about not being able to help your friend Tobi," Goldwinger explained, "not to mention being more of a chicken than a moth when it comes to danger, so I tried my little device on that cute couple Wes and Eric and it worked. Needless to say, I've been working my toned ass off running around trying to save everyone."

Tori coughed, gasping for air as she caught her breath. Opening her eyes, she looked around, blinking.

"Tor, how do you feel?" Blake asked as he smiled down at her.

"My work here is done!" Goldwinger declared. "Super Goldwinger away!" He then flew off to help someone else.

Tori glanced down at her hand. Without realizing it, Hunter had taken her hand in his own. "Tobi," she gasped, "he's… he's here."

* * *

"How can you bring me back to life?" Tobi asked Hunter and Blake's parents.

"Before it was shattered in our dimension, the Gem of Souls bound us to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas," Mr. Bradley explained. "Aside from being powerful enough to permanently separate a spirit from a body, the Gem of Souls also has the ability to bind a spirit to a body."

"Meaning I could be put back in my body," Tobi realized.

"Tobi, we must warn you that time is running out," Mrs. Bradley added. "It is only because of your healing abilities that you still have any hope of being rebonded with your physical body."

"I understand," he replied. "So, where is the Gem of Souls?"

"It is in the Mountain of Lost Ninjas," Mr. Bradley answered, "but first we must find a way to bring your body there."

"Skyla," Tobi realized. "She can see you guys, so she can see me."

Mrs. Bradley glanced at her husband before saying, "Skyla is nearing the end of her current life cycle."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Tobi yelled just as he saw Tori, Hunter and Blake streak to join Shane. As he watched them, he noticed a glowing, transparent figure sitting cross legged and hovering over the ground. "Leanne?" he recognized.

As he ran over to her, passing through other figures between them, she looked up. "Go away!" she called.

'I'm just trying to help!" he insisted, frowning.

"You can't help me!" she complained. "I'm dead." She looked him up and down. "And so are you. Just leave me alone."

"Leanne," a voice called from behind Tobi. He turned to see the Bradleys hovering over to them.

"Not you guys too," she commented, shaking her head. "I guess if I hadn't been stupid enough to kill myself, my father would have killed me anyway. I hope he dies soon so I can give him a piece of my mind."

"You don't really mean that," Mrs. Bradley insisted.

"Yes I do!" she argued.

"It may still be possible to reach your father," Mr. Bradley suggested.

"He's part of the amulet now more than it's a part of him," Leanne replied as Tobi noticed the rangers nearby acting like they couldn't see, even though he could see them fine.

"There must be a way to stop him," Tobi said, glancing back at Leanne, "and maybe to save him too. If you think it's the amulet that's controlling him, then maybe you can forgive him for—"

"I can never forgive him for what he's done!" she yelled just as Tobi saw a tentacle stap Tori through the chest, causing her to fall over.

"Tori!" he screamed before suddenly finding himself by her side. He tried reaching out, but his hands just passed right through her. "How can I help her?" he asked outloud.

"You can't interact with the living world," Mrs. Bradley told him as she approached with her husband.

"Tori…" he whispered, pouting while hover over her and continuing to try to touch her.

"Tobi?" a voice that sounded like Tori's asked, but her lips weren't moving.

Tobi's eyes widened as he saw a glowing spirit rise out of Tori's body. "Tori!"

"What's happening?" she asked. "You're… a ghost?"

"I'm a spirit," he corrected, "like Hunter and Blake's parents." He gestured back to the two Bradleys. "And Leanne's over there moping."

"So you really are dead…" she mumbled somberly. "Tobi, I'm so sorry. I never should have—"

"Listen to me," he interrupted. "you have to get back into your body. You can't die too…"

"I'm…" she began, turning so she was hovering over he body. Dustin rushed over to her, passing through her spirit form as he examined her body. Her spirit form gasped.

"When we get the Gem of Souls, we'll put you back in your body," Tobi explained quickly, glancing back at the Bradleys.

"There is the possibility that it will only work once," Mr. Bradley warned.

"Then you'll go first," Tobi told his sister.

"No way am I letting you sacrifice yourself again!" she protested.

"Don't argue with me," he pleaded as Goldwinger bounded over. "Just listen to your brother and make sure Hunter treats Dustin right. I know I can count on you to keep him in line." He offered her a smile and wink just as Goldwinger's device healed her chest.

"What's happening?" she asked, her spirit form beginning to fade as it sank back down into her body.

Tobi smiled wide. "I'll meet you guys back at Ninja Ops," he told her. "I'll use Skyla to tell you—"

Tori's body gasped and her eyes began to flutter.

"Tor, how do you feel?" Blake asked her as Goldwinger flew off.

"Tobi," she choked out. "He's… he's here."

"What!" Where?" Dustin yelled, looking around.

"You sure you weren't seeing things?" Blake asked.

"I'm sure!" she insisted, hitting him out of habit. "I guess it was… an out of body experience. He was right here and so were your parents and Leanne."

Hunter and Blake's eyes widened. "That's why Skyla didn't see our parents before. They were with Tobi…"

"How is he?" Dustin asked her. "Is he okay?"

"Other than being dead," she answered, "but he said he might be able to put his spirit back in his body with the Gem of Souls."

"So there must be a Mountain of Lost Ninjas in this dimension too," Hunter realized. "If that's where he's headed, we have to get his body there."

"Let's go!" Dustin agreed.

Tori shook her head as the others helped her up. "The last thing I heard him say is that he was going to meet us back at Ninja Ops."

"Why there if we have to like move his body?" Dustin asked.

"Skyla," Blake realized.

"Right," Hunter agreed. "She'll be able to talk to him." He paused, worried. "I hope Cam was able to find a way to help her."

"So do I," Tori agreed.

After they were sure Tori could walk on her own fine, they ran over to Shane, who had at least succeeded in distracting Dark Omega, who was now back to regular size.

"Tommy!" a voice called as Kimberly ran toward Dark Omega.

He paused, turning to her. "But I killed you," he commented.

"I was healed by—" she began.

"Easily corrected," he interrupted, sending one of his tentacles her way.

"Tommy, I know you can hear me!" she screamed while jumping aside. "I love you!"

Suddenly the tentacles dissolved and Dark Omega's eyes began to clear, but it was only momentary. "There is no Tommy Oliver!" Dark Omega growled.

This gave Tobi an idea and he ran back over to Leanne. "Leanne, is there anyone who Sensei Omino loves?"

"What?" she snapped. "Because he doesn't love me, is that what you're saying?"

"No," he disagreed. "It has to be someone who's still alive so he can see and hear them."

She sighed. "I suppose Miko Hidaka, but good luck getting that tramp to agree to anything."

"Thanks," Tobi replied. "And, if we do manage to save your dad and me, is there anything you want me to tell him?"

She gritted her teeth. "I have nothing to say to him," she insisted.

Tobi frowned. "Okay," he agreed, shrugging.

"Enough of this," Dark Omega declared, recovering. "I have a more important task to complete." He stretched out his arms and a black wave blew out from him, knocking everyone over. He chucked to himself as he vanished along with the dead Dragon Zord.

"Dude, why'd he take the Zord?" Dustin asked, standing.

"Just be glad he's gone," Shane replied as he powered down from his Battlizer.

"We've got something else to worry about," Blake pointed out.

The others turned to see the crowd of injured or recovering humans, aliens and kelzacks standing and facing the rangers, their pupils large and dark. They then began walking toward them.

"Now zombies now too!" Shane complained.

"At least they're the slow zombies, dude, not like the running zombies," Dustin suggested.

Just then, some of them began running toward the rangers.

"You just had to say it!" Blake complained as he prepared to fight.

"You think they're still human, just under some kind of a spell?" Hunter asked.

"I'm going with that," Tori replied, watching a beady-eyed grumpy Sensei hop closer to them.

Shane kicked a Golden Guardian back and the figure tumbled to the ground. "At least it didn't give them super strength," he commented.

Suddenly what looked like a fighter jet shot overhead before stopping. Its engines turned to a vertical position and it hovered in the air before landing. It was followed by two others that did the same. The jets had medical crosses on the sides and, as a figure stepped out, it yelled, "Did someone call for medical assistance? Sorry we're late, but we had some trouble finding this place at night."

"It's Power Rangers!" another voice yelled as they saw the crowed attacking the rangers.

"I'm thinking we get out of here and let them sort this out," Blake suggested as one of the alien medical officers pulled out a definitely not very medical looking bazooka.

"I'm with you on that one," Shane agreed, nodding to the others before they all streaked away.

Tobi watched them go and turned back to the Bradleys. "How do I follow them?" he asked as the crowed then turned on the medical officers. "Can I pass through the portal and all that?"

"You just need to focus on where you want to be," Mrs. Bradley explained.

"Oh, like how I suddenly appeared by Tori," he realized.

"Exactly," she agreed.

Meanwhile, one of the medical officers, a blonde human woman, called to another human medic. "Alyssa, it looks like mind control. Get me my brother."

"Yes, Dana," the other medic agreed before rushing off.

Tobi closed his eyes and focused on Ninja Ops. Instantly, he vanished.

Leanne watched him disappear into thin air. "The Gem of Souls, huh?" she said outloud, a small smile curling up on her lips.

* * *

Tobi found himself inside Ninja Ops even before the others arrived there. He looked around and saw that the Bradleys had followed him too. Then he noticed his pale, slightly bluish body. His skin looked like flaky chalk and the sight disturbed him.

"So, what did my father want to talk to you about?" Cam asked Skyla as he studied the computer screen.

"He seemed to have a lot of questions about destiny and what I thought or _felt_ was supposed to happen," she explained.

Cam smiled. "So, he's asking for a second opinion," he replied. "I'm glad."

"He's here," Skyla whispered as she turned around.

"Oh, dad, I—" Cam began, turning around but not seeing his father. "Where?"

"Not Sensei," she corrected. "Tobi is here."

"He's not exactly going anywhere," Cam pointed out, confused.

"No, his spirit," she clarified. "And he's with Blake and Hunter's parents."

"You can see…" cam began, studying the air just as the others streaked in.

"Skyla," Tori immediately addressed the moment she finished her streak, "I saw Tobi. He's a spirit and he's coming here."

"He's already here," Skyla told her.

"Tell him I'm sorry," Dustin immediately spoke up.

"I can hear you," Tobi replied.

"He can hear you," Skyla repeated for the others.

"TZT…" Dustin whispered, looking around.

"I also need to say I'm sorry," Shane chimed in.

"We all have things we want to tell Tobi," Hunter told the others. "A lot of things," he added, "but they can wait until he's alive again."

"You're right," Tori agreed.

"And how do we do that?" Cam asked skeptically.

"The Mountain of Lost Ninjas," Blake explained.

Hunter nodded. "The Gem of Souls can supposedly bring Tobi back to life."

"Then let's go already!" Dustin yelled.

"Wait," Tobi called, pausing as Skyla repeated his words. "When Kimberly told Dark Omega that she loved Doctor Oliver, his energy seemed to weaken for a moment. Leanne told me that Sensei Omino was in love with someone named Miko Hidaka. If you can find her, maybe she could pull Doctor Oliver and Sensei Omino apart or at least make Dark Omega weak long enough to have a shot at defeating him."

Cam gasped as Skyla finished repeating Tobi's idea.

"Cam, what's wrong?" Tori asked.

"Miko Hidaka was my mother's maiden name," he explained slowly.

The others exchanged looks.

"Maybe if we get your dad to help…" Shane suggested.

Cam took a breath. "I'll see to… my mother while you take Tobi's body to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas," he told them, a pained look on his face.

"Don't let him go alone," Tobi told Skyla.

"Tobi doesn't want you to go alone," Skyla repeated for Cam.

Cam offered her a weak smile.

"She's right, Cam," Tori agreed, looking toward where she thought her brother might be.

"I will go with Cam," Sensei stated as he entered the room. "And I believe this dimension's version of me may prove useful in convincing his wife."

Cam nodded toward his father.

"But Twilight Zone Sensei is under some like evil spell," Dustin pointed out. "one of us should go with them."

Hunter, Dustin and Tori exchanged looks, shaking their heads. They glanced at Shane. "We need Skyla and I'm not leaving her," he insisted, "not like this." He gestured toward her as she clutched her chest and her legs became wobbly. He was at her side in an instant. "Cam, you couldn't do anything for her?"

Cam began to speak, but Skyla interrupted him. "There's nothing he can do," she whispered.

Tori looked at the others. "I'm staying with Tobi," she said.

"Me too!" Dustin agreed.

Hunter just nodded.

"Don't everyone volunteer at once," Blake said sarcastically, hitting his brother on the shoulder. "Fine, I'll go with Cam and Sensei."

Cam nodded, looking to Skyla. "Anything else?" he asked.

She smiled. "He says, good luck."

Cam smiled back. "Thanks," he offered.

Hunter and Dustin carefully lifted Tobi's lifeless body.

"Here," Cam called, tossing the Sun Amulet, which Tori caught.

"Don't worry, Cam," she told him. "We'll save Tobi."

He just nodded, blinking slightly.

"Well, let's go," Shane said, supporting Skyla.

A moment later, everyone had left Ninja Ops, including the spirits.

* * *

___**To be continued...**_

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_**Author's Note:**__ So, what did you think of my attempt at simultaneity? This chapter was originally supposed to be one big long epic, but it quickly became obvious that it was way too long, so this seemed like a good spot to stop it. Let me know what you think of things. Your feedback is extremely helpful! Believe me, I am very much dependent on my reviewers to know not just how I'm doing but where to go with what I have. So, thank you for clicking the Review This Chapter button below!_


	29. Changing Hearts and Changing Destinies

**NEW POLL****: **_**Who should Tobi end up with?**_** Please vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on _Rogue Ranger_ to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.**

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PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS: **_Who should go to and stay in the REGULAR dimension, aka the GOOD Power Rangers dimension?_ There was overwhelming support for Tobi to stay in the regular dimension (in fact, more people voted for him than anyone else, even though you could pick more than one). Close seconds are all the good Power Rangers plus evil Dustin, Destiny and Skyla. Coming in third are grumpy Sensei, Geo and good Marah and Kapri (funny how no one wanted the evil Marah and Kapri to stay, so I guess they get shipped over to the evil Power Rangers dimension). And, last but not least, one person voted for Goldwinger.

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ATTENTION: New Parallel Realities Ninja Storm poster added to my DevianART account (see my profile for link).**

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_Author's Note: _**_Once again, I planned on putting this all in one chapter, but, once again, I realized it would be way too long, so I stopped at what felt like a good point. At least we get a chance to finally see what happens to Tobi and Skyla. I think the ending to this chapter came out fairly decent. And DON'T get used to a chapter coming out this fast. I had already started on this one before. Oh, and I added in Ryan from PRLR because he did receive a decent amount of votes in the earlier poll about what past gen characters should appear. I always keep these kinds of things in mind even long after a new poll is up. As for the other past gen characters in here, that's lead-up to the next chapter. Also, we get a little Cam and Blake time._

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Review Comments: **_

_Thanks _**Ghostwriter** _for returning to the Parallel Realities Ninja Storm review world! I completely understand you working on your own things. I do that all the time! ;)_

_Thanks _**YellowPrincess** _for the kind words! I'm glad that I could brighten up your day, but I'm sorry you had such an awful one. Hopefully the ones that followed it (such as today) are better. You've been so supportive of Tobi ended up with goofy and good Dustin, so I'd like to at least try that out (final results are dependent on the new poll). Also, I've included some little Tori/Hunter moments here and there for your enjoyment. And we'll find out if Cam's mom helps mostly in the chapter after this one, since this ended up mostly dealing with Tobi and Skyla. So, without spoiling anything, you won't have to miss Tobi much longer…_

_Thanks _**FinalJudgement **_for declaring my story better than Naruto! I happen to know of some people who would disagree, but they don't deserve mentioning. ;) And, yes, I like the name Tobi. I also wish my name were Tobi. And maybe I could even have Tori as my twin sister! And Dustin as my… Okay, so enough daydreaming. But here's the continuation…_

_Thanks _**Ruon jian **_for your insightful critique! I'm glad that I succeeded in telling the story from multiple perspectives and I appreciate your insight into TZD's and Dustin's potential mutual fear of commitment. It actually plays on something I've been thinking about, which is: Did the Power Rangers start out evil in the other dimension, or did something in their past change them? You say TZD and Dustin are one in the same in at least one respect, so were they the exact same people as the good Power Rangers at birth, but changed because the circumstances of their world are different? I plan to deal with this once the good and bad Power Rangers meet up again._

_Thanks _**griffin blackwood **_for your pink praise! And, for your pinkification and pink preference, I originally had Alyssa and Dana because I needed medics and I was like, who has medical or healing knowledge in PR? But, you pointed out that they were both pink and so I have introduced a little something in this chapter to flow into the next. You'll see what it is. ;) And, yes, Alyssa and Dana have different personalities here since it's another dimension, but I have no idea if I'll manage to create any "spark" here or in the next chapter. As far as you not liking Tobi/Dustin right now, I am going to do something with them in this chapter. Will you like it? I have no idea. You might hate it… But, we'll see._

_Thanks _**Magichalo** _for reviewing faster this time! It pays to not write super long chapters, I see! Also, I really appreciate your thoroughness! I will say that I had already started writing this chapter before I read your review, but it was just the beginning part. Typically, I like to have an idea fully formed in my head before I write it down. I'll also say that I really wanted to use all your ideas, especially since I thought the idea of Leanne summoning warriors while they were all in the Cavern of Spirits would be really awesome, but then I tried it out and it took away from the intensity of the drama and ended up loosing focus. I hope you like my compromise. As for Skyla's changing into energy, that comes straight from the episode Shane's Karma Part 2 where she became energy and gave Shane the Battlizer, so I decided to stick to that. Also, people voted for Skyla to come back with the others, so I had to work with that… And, as for which Dustin Tobi ends up with, I decided to take your idea to the people so to speak and make a new poll. As always, I appreciate your suggestions and feedback!_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dark Omega is attacking at the park, but Goldwinger helps to save the victims. Tori has an out of body experience where she sees Tobi and he tells her of the Bradley parents' plan to use the Gem of Souls to merge his spirit with his body. Meanwhile, Cam tries but fails to merge the Sun Amulet with a mock-up morpher. He suggests to Dustin that it's not too late to choose Tobi. Meanwhile, Tobi meets Leanne, who is also a spirit and she overhears his plan to go to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas for the Gem of Souls. Unfortunately, the only way the spirits of Tobi and the Bradleys can communicate with the rangers is through Skyla and she is nearing the end of her life cycle. So, as Cam, Blake and Sensei head off in search of Cam's mother so that, along with Kimberly, they might be able to separate or at least distract Dark Omega, the others head toward the Mountain of Lost Ninjas in hopes of bringing Tobi back to life...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 29 (Changing Hearts and Changing Destinies)**

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"I need to rest of a moment," Skyla told Shane as she panted.

"Everyone, hold up!" Shane called, helping her to the roots of a nearby tree for support. They were in the forest sloping up to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas, moonlight glowing down through the trees.

"We're almost there!" Dustin protested, pausing with Tobi's body.

"Dustin's right," Hunter agreed, shifting his support of his half of Tobi's body.

"We're stopping, okay?" Shane replied.

"Sure," Tori agreed, giving Hunter and Dustin a look that said, "Don't argue."

Dustin pouted while Hunter frowned. They both carefully lowered Tobi's body and exchanged concerned looks.

The spirit form of Tobi watched this and turned to Skyla. "Are you going to be able to make it?" he asked her.

"I think so," she replied. Shane looked at her with a confused expression. "I'm just talking to Tobi," she told him, offering him a warm smile.

"Oh," he replied, blushing at the look on her face.

"You love him, don't you?" Tobi asked her.

She gave him a quick, embarrassed look.

"Don't worry," he said. "They can't hear me, remember?"

She still looked nervous. "Yes, but he…" Her eyes darted to Shane.

"If you're trying to say you don't think he shares your feelings, I think it's pretty obvious he does," Tobi said, gesturing toward Shane, who would look at her before quickly looking away.

She sighed. "It's not me," she explained, "just a memory and who I try to be."

Tobi looked down, shaking his head. "You underestimate yourself. And I'm not just saying that because I would be a spirit forever without your help."

She smiled toward him. "Thank you," she replied, glancing away. "Maybe it's like how Dustin feels about you."

He followed her gaze to Dustin, who was brushing the hair on Tobi's body. He noticed that Tori had pulled Hunter aside. "Dustin chose Hunter," he told her as he noticed Tori and Hunter constantly glance toward Skyla as they spoke quietly. "Hey, can you pretend to keep talking to me?"

"I guess so," she agreed, confused, "but why?"

"I'll be right back," he said, walking over to Tori and Hunter. "Just keep talking like I'm still over there."

"Uh huh," she said to thin air. "Oh, really?"

"That's great!" he called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, she's talking to Tobi, not Shane, so you can go ahead," Hunter told Tori as Tobi approached and listened.

"Hunter, I…" She bit her bottom lip nervously.

"What's wrong, Tor?" Hunter asked her. "Look, if it's about you crying on me, I get it. I'm here for you in any way you need me to be. If you want to—"

"It's not that," she interrupted, a little flustered. "I was just… upset."

"Of course," he agreed, nodding.

She took a breath. "It's about Dustin and… him choosing you."

"Oh," Hunter replied quietly. "Uh, what about it?"

"Dustin told me he doesn't love anyone," she explained, "but I think it's not that at all. He loves you both, and even Marah."

Hunter nodded, gulping.

"So, him choosing you really didn't mean anything," she continued, "except to Tobi."

"Tor, what are you asking me?" Hunter asked.

"When Tobi wakes up, I want Dustin to tell Tobi he's chosen him," she finished.

"You want me to tell Dustin we're not meant to be together?" Hunter asked.

She nodded.

"What are you doing!" Tobi yelled at his sister. "What happened to making sure Hunter doesn't hurt Dustin! Now you want him to break Dustin's heart?"

Hunter had a pained look in his eyes. "I'll do it," he finally said. "I owe him my life."

"Thank you," Tori replied, hugging him.

"You're supposed to be my sister!" Tobi continued to yell. "What about Dustin!"

"Tobi, please try to calm down," Mrs. Bradley told him as she approached.

He spun around, pouting and staring over at Dustin as he ran a finger over Tobi's blue lips. "I just…"

"We understand," Mr. Bradley assured him.

"Right," he agreed.

"Guys," Skyla suddenly called out, "we're not alone."

Suddenly a horde of grey undead ghouls appeared around them.

"Not these guys again!" Shane complained, standing protectively in front of Skyla.

"Didn't we beat them last time?" Dustin pointed out as Hunter rushed over to Tobi's body.

"Well, they're already dead, so you can't kill them again," Tori suggested.

The group took up a fighting stance around Skyla and the lifeless Tobi.

"Stay close together," Skyla instructed.

No sooner had a ghoul lunged toward them then they all vanished.

The ghouls them turned their attention toward Tobi and the Bradleys. "Wait, they can see us?" Tobi asked.

"I'm afraid they can do more than that," Mr. Bradley said, taking his wife's hand and backing away.

"Just think about the others and you will appear there," Mrs. Bradley told Tobi.

He nodded, closing his eyes. He felt something collide with his spirit form and he suddenly flew backward, passing right through a tree before he managed to hover to a stop. He looked up, watching as the ghouls ran toward him.

"Concentrate!" Mr. Bradley commanded.

As the ghouls dove for him, Tobi focused again and, this time, he found himself near the others.

"Now they're here," Skyla told them.

"Then let's go," Shane said, motioning forward.

"I hope things are going easier for Blake and Cam," Tori suggested as they continued their trek up the mountain.

* * *

Cam with Sensei on his shoulder and Blake by his side arrived at the park to see a large commotion. There were jets, Humvees, bright lights and what looked like alien medics running around. The three managed to spot Mayor Lothor in the chaos and approached him.

"Where's the other Sensei?" Cam asked.

"My brother?" Lothor replied, looking around. "We were separated when Dark Omega put us all under some form of mind control. We're just lucky PULSE and the Pink Protectors showed up when they did."

"PULSE and the Pink Protectors?" Cam repeated.

"Paramedics United for Longevity and Survival in Emergencies," a female voice explained as the others turned to see a woman with dark hair and skin approach. "And the Pink Protects is our answer to Frax's Golden Guardians. As you probably noticed, they're all guys."

Cam and Blake just nodded, confused.

"Sorry guys and you're pet," she apologized. "I'm Alyssa Enrile and a member of both organizations."

"Actually, this is my father," Cam corrected.

She cringed. "Uh, to each their own," she shrugged, hitting him on the shoulder. "Ah, sorry," she apologized when he winced. "I used to be pretty violent before I joined the Pink Protectors and became a medic."

Cam exchanged a look at Blake before asking, "So, I'm taking it that you haven't seen another guinea pig dressed like this one, except with a hat?"

"Well if that was a different one, then yes," she agreed. "He was helping out Goldwinger, a big colorful moth with a tendency of calling hot guys 'babe.'"

"We're aware of who Goldwinger is," Cam assured her.

"Yeah, can't say you'd forget him," she chucked, hitting him hard enough to knock him back a step. "Ah, sorry again. Anyway, if you need anything else, I'd ask Doctor Mitchell. She's in charge of this operation and she's also a Pink Protector, so she's trustworthy."

"We'll keep that in mind," Cam told her.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," Blake chimed in, motioning to Cam that it was time to go.

"Anyway, got to go," she told them. "People to save and all." She started to hit him before stopping herself, smiling and walking off.

Blake grinned as she left and Cam looked at him suspiciously. "What?" Blake asked defensively. "It was the first time a girl didn't spend the whole conversation hitting me."

Cam nodded. "Well, it's a first time for me," he admitted, "and I know Tori."

"Right," Blake agreed, "but she saves her hardest hits for me."

"She would," Cam mumbled to himself.

"Get out of bed in the middle of the f#&%! Night," a voice complained. "Fix the f^*&^$# robot. Bend over and take it up the ass."

"Perry?" Cam asked, approaching Perry, who was repairing Frax.

"Yeah, what the f$%# do you want?" Perry snapped.

Blake gave Cam a confused look.

"I'll explain later," Cam told Blake before addressing Perry. "Have you seen a guinea pig wearing a robe?" Perry looked at the Sensei on his shoulder.

"Besides me," Sensei pointed out.

"We hear he's with Goldwinger," Cam added.

"The slave driver's over there," Perry said, motioning vaguely over his shoulder as he continued his work.

"Over…" Cam prompted.

"There," Perry replied.

"Uh, right," Cam agreed. "Thanks," he offered, looking around.

"Yeah, what the f#$ ever," Perry mumbled.

Fortunately, Goldwinger was fairly easy to spot, as he was still tending to injuries when Cam and Blake approached. "Ah, my friends!" he happily greeted them.

"Goldwinger, have you seen the other Sensei?" Cam asked.

"I'm right here," grumpy Sensei announced, hopping over. "And, Goldwinger, you have a visitor."

"Hey, Goldie," a voice called as Goldwinger spun around.

"Ry!" Goldwinger shouted, running over to a man with short, spiky hair and a glowing smile. The two embraced before Goldwinger pulled him over. "I want you guys to meet Ryan Mitchell," Goldwinger introduced.

"So, you're Doctor Mitchell?" Cam asked, confused. "You're with the Pink Protectors?"

Ryan blinked at them for a moment. "No, that would be my sister," he corrected. "I don't wear pink."

"You have before," Goldwinger reminded him.

"Everyone dresses in pink on Plubberberry Day," he defended.

Goldwinger turned back to the others. "Ryan and I used to be lovers," Goldwinger commented before turning back to Ryan. "I should have known you were behind breaking the mind control."

"There's a lot of evidence to support my original theory that many of the Power Rangers were under one form of mental influence or another," Ryan explained. "I owe that belief that Power Rangers can turn good to you, Goldie. Speaking of which, am I going to have to start calling you Doctor Goldie?"

"No, silly boy," Goldwinger disagreed. "But I hear I'll have to start calling you Professor Ry. You always were such a nerd!"

"Yep, about one more year to go," Ryan agreed. "You know, I'm kind of surprised you're out here in the middle of the action."

"Some things change," Goldwinger told him. "And, speaking of change, I suppose you're seeing someone now…"

Ryan grinned. "No, actually, I'm not…"

"I hope I'm not interrupting you two love birds," a voice announced. The others turned to see a blonde woman in a medical suit with a pink cross approached.

"_This_ is Doctor Mitchell, or, as I call her, little sis," Ryan explained.

Dr. Mitchell roller her eyes. "Some of us are more focused on our work than others, but thank you nonetheless."

"You're welcome, little sis," Ryan replied.

"That's Doctor… Oh, nevermind," she sighed. "Jinxter says that all the residents are back to normal and I'm having Loki help with overseeing injuries sustained by some residents."

"Thanks, Dana," Ryan told her. "I'll catch you guys later. I need to make sure Frax is alright."

"Before you go," Cam interrupted, "we're going to need Kimberly Hart's help with a plan we have to distract or maybe even defeat Dark Omega."

Dr. Mitchell cringed.

"I think I saw her with Eric and Wes," Ryan replied, noticing his sister's expression. "And, you'll have to forgive my little sis. Kim tried to kill her."

Cam and Blake grew wide-eyed.

"She was trying to kill off all the pink Power Rangers," Dr. Mitchell explained. "I would recommend against using her."

"It's something we have to try," Cam defended.

"So, what is it you wanted with me?" grumpy Sensei asked Cam.

Cam took a breath. "We need you to convince my mother to help distract Dark Omega. In theory, having Kimberly draw Doctor Oliver's attention and…. someone Sensei Omino cares about pulling his attention, the two may separate long enough to seize the Shade Amulet."

Grumpy Sensei groaned. "You want me to talk to that stuck-up b—"

"Please," Cam pleaded.

"Fine," he grumbled, hopping up to Cam's opposite shoulder. "But I am no miracle worker!"

Cam just sighed, looking over at Blake, who just shrugged.

"I have to get back to work," Dr. Mitchell told Ryan. "If you see dad, tell him he's welcome to stop by the hospital for a visit any time…"

"I will," Ryan agreed, consoling her. "You know the demands of being a governor."

"I know," she replied coldly. "It's a fact of life. I'll see you later, Ryan."

"Bye," he called as she left.

"She still feels like your father loves you more than her, doesn't she?" Goldwinger asked.

"Yeah, she does," Ryan agreed.

"Do you think you'll be able to convince the Golden Guardians to let us use Kimberly?" Cam asked him.

"Frax owes me a favor," Ryan explained, grinning. "I'll make sure she's there when you need her."

"Thanks," Cam replied. "Hopefully we'll be back shortly." His eyes darted between the two Senseis on his shoulders.

"Yeah, later," Blake agreed as Ryan and Goldwinger began talking intensely. "I guess I didn't need to come," he added to Cam.

"I'm actually… glad you came," Cam admitted, "but I'd understand if you'd rather join the others."

"No, it's okay Cam," Blake assured him.

Cam offered him a smile before they streaked to Cam's mom's house.

The moment they stopped, grumpy Sensei hopped off Cam's shoulder and toward the door. "I'll do this on my own," he told the others.

"I will come along," the other Sensei added, joining him.

"And how do I explain two guinea pig versions of me?" grumpy Sensei pointed out.

"I will just observe," the other Sensei replied. "I am… curious what she looks like now. That is all."

"Yeah, right," grumpy Sensei said sarcastically. "You're so full of it!"

"Full of what?" the other Sensei asked, confused.

Grumpy Sensei just groaned, hopping up to the doorbell.

"You think this'll work?" Blake asked Cam.

"I don't know," Cam admitted. "Sometimes people can be stubborn, especially when strong emotions are involved."

"Like with Tori," Blake agreed.

"Tori has every reason to be hesitant when it comes to you," Cam justified, "especially after you had sex with someone else."

"Not you too!" Blake complained. "It was Tori! She looked like her, she sounded like her, she felt like her…"

"And Tori suddenly being sexually aggressive didn't tip you off that something was wrong?" Cam asked skeptically.

"Come on!" Blake protested. "Cam, you're a guy, right?"

"Yes, Blake, I am a guy," Cam replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what it's like to want to bone a chick, right?" Blake asked.

"I do know what it is like to want to have sex with a woman," he admitted.

"So why are you bagging on me like I did something totally out there?" Blake continued. "Even Hunter acts like he's more worried about protecting Tori than me."

"Well, Tori is our friend and we naturally worry about her," Cam explained.

"You know Tori can defend herself," Blake insisted.

"True," Cam conceded.

"Besides," Blake added, "I won't hurt her because… I love her."

Cam looked at him, something flickering in his eyes.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Nothing," Cam said quickly.

Blake glared at him. "What?"

Cam sighed before replying. "I think she loves you too."

"Oh," was all Blake said as the front door of the house finally opened and a woman in a robe peaked out.

"Kanoi?" she snapped, looking down at the guinea pig. "What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to talk to you," grumpy Sensei insisted.

"I told you I have nothing to say to you," she replied hastily as she closed the door.

Grumpy Sensei backflipped into the door, causing it to swing open.

She immediately took up a fighting stance. "Have you forgotten we trained together?" she asked him.

"I'm not here to fight you," he replied, "even though we both know I'd win. I'm here for your help and to say… I'm sorry."

She gave him a surprised look before changing her stance and crossing her arms. "Alright," she said, "I'm listening."

"Can I at least come in?" he suggested.

She paused before relenting. "Fine," she agreed, glancing over at Cam. "And, Cam… I guess you might as well come in too." There was an edge in her voice, but her eyes seemed to soften a bit.

Maybe we can do this, Cam thought as he remembered her slamming the door in his face the first time he saw her. "I bet the others think they have it tough," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

The rangers, spirits and Skyla finally arrived at the Cavern of Spirits within the Mountain of Lost Ninjas. It was a dimly lit cave that opened up into a carved out area with a set of stone steps rising up to a small alter.

"There it is," Hunter noticed first. "The Gem of Souls, just like in our dimension."

But, as the others approached the glowing green gem that was casting an eerie glow around the cavern, Tobi noticed Leanne standing over it. "Stay back!" she warned. "The Gem of Souls is mine. I heard what you said and I intend to get my life back."

"But you don't have a body to be put back into," Tobi reminded her as Hunter and Dustin spread his body out on the ground below the pedestal that held the Gem of Souls.

She looked around. "I don't need my body," she replied, staring at Tori. "I found a new one."

"You are _not_ taking over my sister's body!" Tobi yelled just as Hunter picked up the Gem of Souls.

She flew toward Tobi and slammed into him, which caused him to bounce backward as if he were made out of rubber.

Skyla gasped, falling to the ground as Tobi flew back toward Leanne.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, rushing down to her.

"It's time," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"No!" Shane protested. "Like, right now?"

"Yes," she nodded, adding, "You can't change your destiny and this is mine."

Hearing this, Tobi paused and hovered over to her. "Skyla, can we use the Gem of Souls to keep you in your body?" he asked.

She nodded weakly. "But I won't let you."

"Won't let me what?" Shane asked.

She shook her head. "I want you to know," she began, gasping, "that I… love you."

"I love you too," Shane insisted without hesitation. "I'll never forget you."

"Remember her," she told him, "the strong one you loved."

"No," he protested. "I'll remember you, just the way you are."

"Skyla," Tori called, keeling quickly next to her. "We need to know what to do next."

Skyla paused, listening. "Place the gem on Tobi's body," she explained. "His spirit needs to be over his… body…" Her breathing became extremely forced and Shane held her tigher.

"Skyla, you have to tell them that they can save you!" Tobi insisted. "Skyla!" he yelled as she seemed to ignore him.

"Tobi, lie over your body," Mr. Bradley insisted.

"What about Skyla?" Tobi asked. "She deserves to be saved. Me… If I come back, Hunter's going to break Dustin's heart to try to make me happy."

"Tobi, just trust us," Mrs. Bradley told him.

"Listen to her," Skyla whispered. "It's my destiny and this is yours. You can't change your destiny."

Before Tobi could protest, he heard Leanne say, "It's not my first choice, but I guess it will have to do." He looked over to see her hovering over his body as Dustin clutched his hand and Hunter lowered the Gem of Souls.

"No!" Tobi yelled, but of course they couldn't hear him.

Skyla coughed, mumbling, "Stop."

"Stop what?" Shane asked before realizing. "Wait, hold up," he told Hunter as Tobi dove toward Leanne and the two bounced apart.

"Here," she mumbled, raising her hand weakly. "I'll do it."

"You don't have the strength," Shane argued.

"Please," she whispered and he nodded before helping her over to Tobi's body. Hunter handed the Gem of Souls to her and she waited. "Hold her back," she told the Bradleys, "and hold him down."

"Dude, what's she mean?" Dustin asked, still holding Tobi's cold, pale hand in his.

"I don't know," Hunter replied while making sure the Sun Amulet was placed securely in Tobi's opposite palm.

Mr. Bradley flew over to Leanne, covering her in a white cloak as she fought against him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bradley tried to move Tobi's spirit over his body.

"But what about Skyla?" he asked again.

"The others can only hear us through her," she explained. "There's nothing we can do to change her mind, but we can save you."

"Right," Tobi reluctantly agreed, hovering over his body. "But I'm not going to let Hunter break Dustin's heart."

"I know," she said softly as he got into position. "Tell our sons how much we love them."

"And how proud we are of the men they've become," Mr. Bradley added, still holding Leanne back.

"I will," Tobi promised, "and thank you both… for everything."

"Thank you," Mrs. Bradley whispered as everything seemed to flicker around him.

The others gasped as Skyla lowered the Gem of Souls and the spirits became visible.

"Dude, it's working!" Dustin declared as he saw Tobi's spirit sink into his body.

"Mom?" Hunter asked, instinctively reaching out to the spirit that was so close but yet unreachable.

"Yes, Hunter, we're here," she assured him. "We're always here."

"We had to leave you for a brief time while we helped Tobi," his father chimed in. "I hope you understand."

"Dad? …Leanne?" Hunter noticed as he turned. "Yeah… I… I understand. Thank you for helping to save Tobi. I owe him my life and…" He looked down as Tobi's spirit vanished into his body.

His father turned to Leanne. "Do you have anything to say?"

Leanne frowned. "I guess," she reluctantly agreed. "Hunter, tell your brother… he was more than just a boy toy to me."

Hunter gave her a confused look. "Okay…" he replied.

"And…" She grimaced. "Tell my father… I forgive him." She sighed. "Yeah, that's big of me, I know, but… I… I still love him," she added just as the spirits began fading.

"We know you've wondered how we feel about your feelings toward Dustin," his mother told him.

"We just want you to be happy," his father continued. "We love you no matter what." They then vanished along with Leanne.

"Wait!" Hunter called, but they were gone.

Tori placed a hand on his and, when he finally looked her way, she offered him a reassuring smile. "They really do love you," she reminded him.

Hunter just nodded.

"Guys!" Dustin called their attention back to Tobi. "It's working!"

They watched as the Sun Amulet began to glow in Tobi's palm and his pale body slowly changed color.

"Thank you," Tori told Skyla sincerely.

She just nodded weakly.

"You are even stronger than the other Skyla," Shane whispered to her. "And braver. And…" At that moment, her body began to glow. "And…" he choked out, trying to hold back the tears.

"TZT," Dustin whispered, lowering his face closer as Tobi began to breathe again. After a moment, Tobi's breathing steadies and his eyes fluttered open. Dustin immediately grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Dus—Dustin," Tobi choked out.

"TZT, I missed you _so_ much!" Dustin told him as he looked over and noticed Skyla's body converting into energy.

Tobi immediately used what little strength he had to push Dustin off of him and feel around for the Gem of Souls. He noticed it had a crack down its center, but hoped it would work. He shoved it toward Skyla just as her body dissolved into glowing light.

He concentrated hard on holding her body together, but she had already broken down into energy.

The others could do little more than watch as Tobi tried focusing harder. He could sense her life force but it was so different from anything he had ever felt before that igniting it seemed to actually make her convert into energy faster. It seemed like the only thing holding her there was the Gem of Souls. That was when he noticed the gem itself had a strand of life in it. As he focused on that, the gem began to glow brighter.

The others gasped as strands of gold light circled out from the Gem of Souls and wrapped around the sparkling light that was Skyla. As the strands pulled at the light, Skyla's body began to reform.

"Awesome," Dustin muttered.

Then there was a blinding flash of light and everything became dark.

As their eyes readjusted to the dark, they saw Skyla fully reformed and Tobi lying motionless next to Dustin.

"No, no, no!" Dustin screamed, grabbing Tobi. "Not again! No way! You can't!" He shook Tobi's body with one arm while holding the Sun Amulet in Tobi's palm with the other. All the while, tears were running down Dustin's face.

"Dustin, set him down," Tori told him.

"Skyla," Shane whispered as she opened her eyes and glanced around. She looked at him, surprised, but then smiled.

"Will he be okay?" Hunter asked, kneeling.

"Dustin, move your hand," Tori insisted. He reluctantly obeyed and she could see that the Sun Amulet wasn't glowing. She shot Hunter a worried look.

"Here," Skyla said, gesturing for Shane to release his tight hold on her.

The others stood back as she reached out her hand and it began to glow. She touched Tobi's chest and a flash shot between them. Then both their bodies began to glow. After a moment, Skyla fell back into Shane's arms. Looking down, the others could see the Sun Amulet begin to glow.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked Skyla nervously.

"Yes," she told him, blinking.

Tobi's breathing returned and he slowly opened his eyes. Once again, Dustin grabbed him in a tight embrace, but this time Hunter and Tori joined in.

"I'm glad to be back too," Tobi told them, "but I do need to breathe."

They released him, big smiles on their faces, except for Dustin's. "TZT," she said slowly. "I've got something to tell you."

Tobi looked at him quizzically.

Dustin fidgeted nervously, running a hand through his wavy dark brown hair and licking his bottom lip. His chocolate eyes stared intensely at Tobi as he reached out and ran a single finger along Tobi's now pink lips. Leaning down, he placed his lips against Tobi's, kissing him. Their lips met softly at first but then Dustin kissed him with more passion.

Tori and Hunter both exchanged surprised looks.

When Dustin pulled away, both their faces were flushed and they were breathing heavily. "I wanted to tell you…" Dustin continued, "I was stupid and selfish. And… I thought I like needed something else, but I need…" A pained look crossed his face as he glanced at Hunter. "I'm sorry," he told Hunter slowly, but when he looked back at Tobi, his expression had already transformed into one of fierce determination. "…you," he finished. "I was wrong about choosing Hunter," he added, pausing. "I choose you. I choose… _only_ you."

Tobi looked up at the emotions sparkling in Dustin's eyes as he looked from him to Hunter and then down to the ground. The truth was, he loved Dustin and would do just about anything to be with him, but he knew what he was doing. "Dustin," he whispered. "I know what Hunter told you, that you weren't meant to be together after all, but he just said that because he felt like he owed me after saving his life. But, Dustin, you don't owe me anything. You don't even have to choose. I was wrong for saying you had to choose in the first place. You have enough for all of us and we're just… happy with whatever you give us."

Hunter looked at Tori, eyes wide with surprise. She just shrugged, equally surprised.

Dustin frowned at Tobi. "But Hunter didn't tell me anything," he protested. "I _want_ to choose you." He began to pout. "But if you like don't like like me anymore I get it…"

Tobi reached up and pulled Dustin into a hug. "No, Dustin," he told him. "I love you and I just want you to be happy."

Dustin pulled him back so he could stare intensely into his eyes. "TZT, I _am_ happy," he assured him with a wide grin. "I'm like Super Awesome Happy Dude!" he declared.

Tobi couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, good," he replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Dustin paused, thinking. "Or Super Happy Awesome Dude," he amended.

"I guess either way works," Tobi commented as he looked over to Hunter. "Glad to see you're okay after… what happened," he told him.

"Thanks to you," Hunter replied, his eyes glancing at Dustin's smiling face. "I owe you my life."

"Listen, Hunter," Tobi said, a serious expression forming on his face. "I didn't necessarily do it for you. I did it for—"

"I know why you did it," Hunter interrupted. "Now's not the time to assign _blame_." He motioned with his eyes toward Dustin.

Tobi immediately caught on to what Hunter was saying, that Dustin didn't need to know he was responsible for Tobi sacrificing himself for Hunter. He nodded. "I probably would have done it anyway," he told Hunter.

Hunter just nodded while Dustin declared, "TZT, hero of the Twilight Zone!"

Tobi rolled his eyes and, as he did so, he saw the Gem of Souls on the ground and it was in pieces. "I guess it won't work anymore," he commented to himself before feeling the torn cape attached to the back of Dustin's outfit. "I'll have to have this fixed," he said. "We can't have Super Awesome Happy Dude with a torn cape."

"I thought it was Super Happy Awesome Dude," Dustin pondered.

"Aren't those the same things?" Tori asked, glancing at Hunter, who just shrugged.

"Right," Tobi agreed, turning to Skyla, who was wrapped tightly in Shane's arms.

"Welcome back, man," Shane told Tobi. "I owe you big time. Thanks."

"No problem," Tobi replied. "So, Skyla, how do you feel?"

She paused, thinking. "I feel strange, but otherwise fine." She looked around. "The others are gone."

Tobi followed her gaze around the cavern. "The spirits?" he asked.

"I can't see them anymore," she explained before realizing something. She closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later, she opened her eyes and they were wide with surprise.

Shane noticed this and turned her head to face him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't teleport either," she said, thinking. "I feel…" She looked at him with wonder in her dark eyes. "I'm… human."

"Are you sure?" Shane asked.

She smiled. "I don't know how, but it's true."

"Maybe when you did the glowing thing to save TZT," Dustin suggested.

"Maybe," she agreed, suddenly smirking to herself. "I'll have to tell Sensei… destinies can change." She glanced at Tobi and Dustin.

Shane smiled down at her, a deep sense of relief in his eyes.

"I understand your disgust with the idea of being human," a voice spoke from behind them.

The others turned to see Dark Omega standing in the cavern.

"How'd he get here?" Shane asked, pulling Skyla behind him.

"You are now weak and powerless just like them," Dark Omega continued. "I will relieve you of your suffering."

"No you won't!" Shane yelled, immediately standing and nodding to the others. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! Power of Air!"

"You're about to find out who's weak and powerless," Tobi said, standing in front of Dustin as the others morphed.

"Agreed," Dark Omega replied with a laugh.

Suddenly black tentacles shot out from his body. Tobi raised his arms, deflecting them into the cavern walls. Smash! Instantly, the cavern began to collapse.

"I needn't waste my time," Dark Omega told them, spinning until he became a cyclone of black smoke. The others were blown against the collapsing cave walls as the smoke vanished.

"He took the Gem of Souls," Hunter noticed.

"Why, if it broke?" Tori asked.

"Never mind that," Shane yelled. "We've got to get out of here."

They ran toward the exit only to find their path blocked by a wall of rocks.

"I wish I could teleport us," Skyla noted.

"It's not your fault," Shane consoled while removing his Hawk Blaster. But, as he fired, the cave began collapsing faster.

Tobi pushed out a field of energy around them as the cavern ceiling tumbled down around them.

"Any ideas, guys?" Shane asked.

"I can try like phasing us through the rock one at a time," Dustin offered. "Or, TZT can…" He stopped himself. "If it won't hurt him… If it will, then… you shouldn't," he told Tobi.

Tobi looked at him, thinking. "I've been dead once already, and I don't feel like doing it again," he commented, winking at Dustin before telling the others, "Everyone, stay close!" He closed his eyes, focusing on forcing all the rock away from around them by pushing a wave of energy out just like he had done when he rescued Dustin downtown. He recalled how he had ended up destroying nearby buildings without even putting all his effort into it. So, this time, he used it all.

Boom! Suddenly the entire cave around them exploded. But, more than that, the entire mountain exploded. Massive chunks of rock were hurled in every direction as trees flew end over end until a cloud of debris filled the air.

The Mountain of Lost Ninjas was no more. All that was left was a several mile wide pile of strewn rock.

The others opened their visors and turned to stare at Tobi.

"Uh, sorry about that," he apologized.

"No, dude!" Dustin disagreed, grabbing him and jumping up and down. "That was… _awesome_!"

Tobi chuckled lightly. "You're right," he agreed. "That was awesome! …Almost as awesome as you."

"Aw!" Dustin replied, rolling his eyes and hitting him. "Now let's go kick some Dark Omega butt!"

"I'm with Dustin on this one," Tori agreed, a grin on her otherwise surprised face.

"Yeah," Shane mumbled, still surprised.

"You ended up with a little dirt here," Tobi told Dustin' licking his finger and preparing to wipe some of the dirt off Dustin's face, but Dustin swatted his hand away, grinning. "Fine," Tobi declared, reaching down and running his still moist finger through the dirt. He then reached up and ran the dirty finger across his face.

Dustin began giggling uncontrollably.

Tori could sense a dirt fight coming, so she immediately interrupted them. "Let's stop this before it gets out of hand, okay?"

They nodded toward her in agreement.

Skyla smiled toward Tobi and Dustin as Hunter sighed, looking around at the destroyed mountain. Tori noticed the tension and pain in Hunter's eyes and reached out, taking his gloved hand in hers. Without him looking at her, she felt him grip her hand tightly.

Oblivious to the expression on Hunter's face, Dustin threw some dirt all over the front of his crimson suit. He looked down slowly, blinking before looking back at Dustin with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh oh," Dustin mumbled, running behind Tobi. "You wouldn't hurt TZT when he saved your life."

Hunter grinned. "A little dirt never hurt anyone," Hunter commented, picking up a handful of dirt and debris.

Tobi whispered something into Dustin's ear and he nodded. Suddenly Hunter was swallowed by the ground until he was waist deep in dirt. But, as Dustin laughed, Hunter grabbed him by the legs, sending him tumbling over.

"I don't think so!" Tobi yelled, throwing dirt Hunter's way as the crimson ranger climbed out of the ground.

"Boys," Tori began to scold just as a dirt clod hit her, sending dirt into her open helmet. Hunter blinked for a moment, lowering his hand guiltily. "Oh, you are _so_ going to regret that," she declared.

Shane shook his head while raising his wrist. "Shane to Cam," he called into his morpher.

"Tell him mission accomplished," Tobi told Shane while trying to get the dirt that Dustin had just dumped on him out of his hair.

"I heard that," Cam's voice replied. "Welcome back, Tobi. I wish we had time for a teary reunion, but our Dragon Zord friend has somehow managed to find an independent power source and is once again headed for the Abyss of Evil."

"The Gem of Souls," Shane realized. "It's a power source. That's why Dark Omega wanted it."

"I see," Cam replied. "We'll meet you guys at that carnival you were at earlier." He paused before asking, "And, how is Skyla? Is she…?"

"I'm fine, Cam," Skyla assured him. "I'm human now."

There was a moment of silence. "That's… interesting."

"We'll be right there," Shane told Cam, giving the others a look that said, "Playtime's over."

"Alright," Cam agreed as Shane lowered his wrist.

Dustin was about to throw a pile of dirt directly at Shane, but he paused when he noticed the stern expression in his eyes. Then, before he could react, Skyla covered him in dirt. He stared at her wide-eyed as Dustin declared, "Score one for the human!"

"Dustin, we're all..." Tori began before shrugging. "Nevermind."

"Sorry," Skyla said quickly. "I thought it looked fun and, now that I'm human… Here, I'll clean you up." She started brushing the dirt off his outfit.

Shane couldn't help but blush as her hands ran over his body. So, to avoid a wardrobe malfunction, he decided to throw dirt at her. Of course, it was only a small handful, but she still giggled, which encouraged him.

"Didn't we have something we were supposed to do?" Tobi suggested, throwing a handful of dirt at his sister.

"Right!" Dustin agreed, now thoroughly covered in dirt. "Save the Twilight Zone!"

"Dustin's the one focused?" Hunter commented. "This is the Twilight Zone."

Naturally, this earned him a fresh pile of dirt from Dustin. But, the point had been made and Shane signaled that it was time to go. The others nodded before streaking off toward the field that currently held a circus but permanently held… the Abyss of Evil.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

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Author's Note:**__ I couldn't resist a dirt fight! Things have been a bit serious and I wanted to follow up Tobi and Skyla's survival with something happy. As you can see, because of the poll saying everyone wanted to keep Skyla, she miraculously lives and, by becoming human, won't just turn into energy at some point in the future. The next chapter will finally be the resolution of the Sun Amulet/Shade Amulet story arc through a huge epic battle (or at least that's the route I think I'm going to go). What did you think of Dustin choosing Tobi? We'll have to see how things work out between them after people start voting in the new poll though… Plus, when they get back to the regular dimension to take on the evil Power Rangers, that will obviously put more of a perspective on things. I'm still keeping in mind that people did vote two to one for Dustin to choose Hunter, but, after Cam's talk with Dustin in the previous chapter, it just made sense that Dustin would choose Tobi. And, who knows, maybe this new poll will show something different. I kind of suspected that people would choose evil Dustin (aka TZD) for a long time, so I've kept that possibility open. But he and Hunter could always hook up and share their "I was once evil" stories… Or not. We'll see._

_**SHOUT OUT: **__Now that you are finished reading (and hopefully reviewing) this chapter, I would like to draw your attention to my favorite PRNS story on this site. It's called __**Any Moment **__and it's written by __**Rebel Paisley**__. You can find it at the top of my favorite stories or just run a search with the key words __**any moment dustin**__. She really gets into the characters' heads, so if you love PRNS like me, you'll really appreciate her work. And please review it, since her story has too few reviews for its quality in my opinion._

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Until next time…_


	30. Battle for the Fate of the Twilight Zone

**IMPORTANT UPDATE: Since I posted this chapter, I have closed the poll asking who Tobi should end up with because it became overwhelmingly one way and I also want to do a new poll****: **_**Who should Hunter end up with?**_** PLEASE take just a moment to vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). It will help me with chapter 31 if you happen to see that the poll has changed and vote right away! Thank you!  
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Shameless Promotion #1: **__I have started a new story called __**Dustin's First Crush **__based on Dustin's line from Chapter 10, "__I liked a boy in Middle School." You can get to it by going to my profile._

_**Shameless Promotion #2: **I have a **DevianART **account (**rogue-ranger**[dot]**deviantart**[dot]**com**). Although I've basically been just using images and Photoshop (not everyone can be Rebel Paisley and write and draw), I still think some of the stuff is good. **And I made a poster for this chapter! **  
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_Author's Note: _**_Although I envisioned this chapter as being some big epic climax, I wasn't really feeling it while I wrote it, so I kind of rushed through it. I have to apologize about that. Sorry in advance! But at least I have a **whole bunch** of past gen characters. And please vote in the poll!_

_**If this sentence that I am now typing was not here when you read this chapter, I have added a very brief scene with Merrick and Zen-Aku to this chapter.**__  
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Review Comments: **Wow! I've been getting a lot more reviews! I'm taking this as a good sign!_

_Thanks **Ruon jian **for your feedback on who Tobi should end up with and why! It's true that TZD's reaction before the rangers were tossed out of their dimension implies that he did actually care about Tobi after all. I've left other clues too. But, both the poll and the reviewers seem to be spit over this, so I'm willing to go either way. I wish there was an overwhelming direction everyone wanted me to go. Personally, I like goofy Dustin despite his indecisiveness, but that's just me. Consider this though: TZD would have one more thing in common (the first being they have been evil). They each love either the other Dustin or Tobi. So, that could be a bonding element. As far as Dustin and Marah, we'll have to see…_

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for more praise for my story (and PRNS in general)! So, Tori is a guy's name too? I have to admit I didn't know this. And, yes, spandex beats out headbands and whatever jutsus are, especially if Dustin is in the spandex… And, yes, Tori will no longer have to be the only girl. I'm thinking of having Skyla train as a ninja, but not sure what her element would be. And, you can always get the show on DVD. I got them on Ebay pretty cheep and then downloaded the rest of the episodes online and burned them to DVDs. But, I'll admit that I'm **obsessed**._

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for your compliment and suggestions! But, I have to tell you that I decided against having Ryan and Hunter end up together. It would severely complicate things (which are already complicated), so I'll make you a deal. I'll find some way to work that into my story **Dustin in Heat**, since some crazy stuff already happens in there. I also have a request to add Tommy to that story, so I'll have to get around to typing something up soon. As far as Alyssa being pink, I decided to make a reference in here to why I consider her pink. However, when I was going through who the Pink Protectors should be, I realized that it would be too much of a coincidence if all the pink rangers turned good, so they should mostly be former villians. Oh, and I just have to brag that this chapter means that I have officially written more chapters for PRNS than you wrote for your story PRNS Hurricane Chronicles! So, Mwahaha right back at you!_

_Thanks **Ghostwriter** for your continued reviews and encouragement! I hope this chapter turns out to be better than I thought it did (based on what it **could** have been)!_

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for your constant praise and support! I will do more with Skyla and Shane in the future and probably have her train as a ninja with him. As for Dustin and Tobi, I have to admit that it's nice to finally have them together. I hope it lasts, but the reviewers and the poll seem so close… As for Hunter, I'm thinking of a significant Tori/Hunter moment in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet who he'll end up with (which probably means another poll!). And, lastly, more Ryan in this chapter, as well as a bunch of other past gen characters. They don't get that much time though because there's so many things happening at once._

_Thanks **Zach Denali** for your unarticulated love of my story! ;) But how did you read **everything** in one day? That's over six and a half thousand words an hour (over 160,000 total), unless of course you actually took a break, but then I guess I'm not the only one who gets next to no sleep! I'm glad you liked it though! If you come up with a way to compliment my story more, I'm completely open to it! And, If you haven't done so already, please vote in the poll!_

_Thanks **Magichalo** for your much appreciated feedback! As for the switching between the spirit world and reality being slightly confusing, some of it may be a result of editing that I did, but I will say that it was also a challenge for me to write (but I'm always up for a challenge) and I'm glad to have everyone back into the world of the living. Now, speaking of confusing, since I wasn't really feeling this chapter as I wrote it and yet it's intended to have a bunch of things happening at once, I hope this chapter doesn't end up confusing. As for Hunter/TZD in regard to TZD's secret files, TZD having feelings for Tobi and Hunter having feelings for Dustin can be a bonding factor in the same way that similar feelings in Tori and Hunter can serve to bond them. But, I guess we'll see what happens…_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Cam, Blake and Sensei meet Ryan Mitchell, Dana and Alyssa in their quest to get grumpy Sensei to help convince Cam's mother to help try to distract Dark Omega. Ryan agrees to have Kimberly ready to help too, despite her history of hunting down the other pink Power Rangers. Meanwhile, the others head up the Mountain of Lost Ninjas with Skyla and Tobi's body. Tobi overhears Tori telling Hunter that Dustin should choose Tobi over him. Later, in the Cavern of Spirits, Leanne tries to bring herself back to life while Tobi tries to convince Skyla to have the others use the Gem of Souls on her. In the end, Tobi is resurrected, the Bradley parents and Leanne have some parting words for Hunter, and Tobi heals Skyla, though in the process she becomes human. Meanwhile, Dustin tells Tobi that he chooses him. Then Dark Omega shows up and steals the remains of the Gem of Souls to power the Dragon Zord. The rangers become trapped in the collapsing cave and Tobi blows up the Mountain of Lost Ninjas to save them. They then proceed to the circus, where the Dragon Zord is headed to open the Abyss of Evil...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 30 (Battle for the Fate of the Twilight Zone)**

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When Shane, Skyla, Hunter, Tori and Tobi arrived at the circus, it was filled with humans, aliens and kelzacks, all of whom looked like they were preparing for something big. "Move aside!" what looked like a pink and silver robot called as several other plain gray robots carried an oversized cannon past the rangers. The cannon was then followed by several other humans and aliens in pink running by.

"Cogs!" Dustin declared happily, turning his head. "Like from Power Rangers Zeo! Oh, and it's Archerina! And Astronema and Trakeena! Oh, Toxica!" He was pointing wildly.

"Pardon us," a woman with a gold face covering and a dark pink and gold outfit that accentuated her cleavage said apologetically as they passed.

"Man, I'm never gonna get used to that," Shane commented.

"Get used to what?" Tori asked.

"That those guys are good and it's the Power Rangers that are evil," he explained.

"I think it's kinda cool," Dustin chimed in.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "Who says someone has to be evil because they're not quite human?"

"He has a point," Tori suggested. "Consider Sensei."

"I guess so," Shane conceded, watching Skyla. "There's definitely good aliens out there."

"Blake!" Hunter called, noticing his brother with Sensei on his shoulder looking around.

"Hey," Blake greeted his brother and the others as he ran over to them. "You guys are a mess!"

The others grinned sheepishly. "We, uh, had a little run in with dirt," Hunter explained.

"I can see that," Blake agreed.

"You should have been there!" Dustin chimed in. "It was awesome! TZT blew up a whole mountain!" He waved his arms and made a "boom" sound.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You blew up the Mountain of Lost Ninjas?"

"It was either that or be buried alive," Hunter defended.

"Right," Blake said, eying Tobi suspiciously.

"Yo, where's Cam?" Shane asked, looking around.

"He's with the other Sensei and his mom," Blake explained, "but he said he'll be here as soon as he can." He shrugged. "Guess she's taking some real convincing. And, Tobi, glad to see you back in action."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. "So, you're not gonna be paranoid about me kissing you anymore?"

"Paranoid?" Blake repeated defensively. "I wasn't paranoid."

"Bro, you were _so_ paranoid," Hunter said with a nod.

Blake frowned at his brother. "I don't care if he kisses me," he insisted. Everyone gave him surprised looks. "Not that I want him to!" he quickly added. "I'm just not freaked out over it."

Tori eyed him suspiciously before looking over at her brother.

"Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Tobi told Blake, glancing at Dustin. "Once you go yellow, you never go back."

"I thought that was black," Blake said, confused, before realizing. "Ah," he mumbled, eyes darting between Tobi and Dustin. "I get it." He then gave his brother a questioning look.

Dustin giggled to himself before pausing. His eyes glazed over for a moment, but, before they could ask him what was wrong, they felt the vibration too. Looking off into the distance, they saw the massive Dragon Zord stomping its way toward the carnival.

"Here it comes!" Frax called as he approached with several Golden Guardians. "Make certain Eric and Wes are ready."

"Yes, sir," one of his men agreed before running off.

"Ah, Frax," a pink haired woman in a large white outfit greeted. "I see we'll be working together again."

"So it appears, Nadira," Frax agreed. "Just make sure your Pink Protectors do not interfere with our operations."

Nadira frowned. "What is _she_ doing here?"

The others turned to see Ryan approaching with two demon-like aliens who had Kimberly and Billy in chains.

"I have been assured that Mr. Mitchell has a good reason for his actions," Frax explained.

"I always do!" Ryan chimed in, approaching the rangers and glancing toward the Dragon Zord. "Looks like it's time."

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "And, Ryan, these are my friends, the Power Rangers. The _good_ Power Rangers," he clarified.

"I was paying attention," Ryan promised him while looking Hunter up and down suggestively. "Hi, I'm Ryan Mitchell," he greeted.

"Uh, Hunter," the crimson ranger replied nervously as he was sized up like a piece of meat.

Tori watched this with suspicion. "And I'm Tori," she suddenly interrupted, but Ryan just gave her a passing glance.

Blake too noticed Ryan's wandering eyes. "Did I mention that Ryan is Goldwinger's lover?" he added.

Ryan blushed. "That's true," he admitted, "or was true at least."

The others exchanged surprised and slightly disgusted expressions.

Crash! The Dragon Zord smashed its way through the circus entrance, crushing the ticket and snack stands into just splinters.

"Sorry we're late," a voice called as Cam came running over with grumpy Sensei on his shoulder and his mother in tow.

"And Raijin Omino is really in that Zord?" she asked her son skeptically as the three approached.

"Yes," Cam answered. "We never said this was going to be easy."

"With Kanoi, nothing ever is," she mumbled.

"I heard that!" grumpy Sensei told her.

Shane turned to Dustin. "Dustin, take Skyla and Tobi back to Ninja Ops with the Senseis."

"What? Why?" Dustin protested. "You guys are gonna need Awesome Dude!" he reminded him while pointing toward the logo on his chest.

"I'm with Shane on this," Hunter said, earning him a slightly surprised look from Shane.

"Yeah, we'll all feel better that way," Tori added as she looked directly at Tobi.

"The rangers are correct," Sensei said, hopping from Blake's to Tobi's shoulder. "We could all prove to be more of a distraction than an asset."

"My dad's right," Cam chimed in while lifting grumpy Sensei off his shoulder. "We don't want to lose any of you… again." His eyes met Tobi's and he looked like he was forcing himself to remain his usual unemotional self.

"Let me go!" grumpy Sensei demanded. "I want to stay with Miko."

"To make sure I follow your plan?" Cam's mother asked the squirming guinea pig.

"No," grumpy Sensei disagreed. "I… want to make sure nothing happens to you."

She gave him a surprised look.

"I'll make sure they're both safe," Ryan promised them just as the Dragon Zord obliterated a carousel, sending plastic horses flying in all directions as it continued to stomp forward. Suddenly a pink beam from the Pink Protectors' cannon hit its side, but otherwise the cannon did nothing to slow its progress.

"Now, the rest of you, get back to Ops," Shane said quickly to his unmorphed friends.

"Dustin's right," Tobi suggested. "We can help you."

At that moment, the Dragon Zord stopped walking and shot a glowing beam of energy out of its mouth. The beam blasted straight through a ferris wheel, sending it rolling off its supports and crashing into the Fun House. Then, as the beam reached the ground, it began drilling through it.

"We should go," Skyla told Dustin and Tobi as she watched the concern on Shane's face.

Tobi looked at Dustin's disappointed face, but gestured for them to go. As they turned, though, Dustin's eyes suddenly glossed over. "What's wrong?" Tobi asked him.

"This is _so_ not good," he mumbled mostly to himself.

"Dustin, what do you—?" Tobi began just as Dark Omega streaked out of the Zord and landed near where the bean was drilling deep into the earth.

"Tommy…" Kimberly whispered to herself.

"Looks like it's time," Ryan said, glancing at Cam.

"Blake, Hunter," Cam addressed. "You mentioned before that your parents in this dimension gave you your Thunder Zords."

"That's right," Blake remembered.

"It's time to use them against the Dragon Zord," Shane said, nodding toward the brothers.

Hunter and Blake both pressed a button on their morphers and looked around while Cam turned to his mother. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she grumbled. "I'm only doing this to save the world, like I said."

"Of course," Cam agreed with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Blake spotted two insect-shaped Zords approaching. "That's our cue," Blake told the others.

"Good luck," Tori called as the two streaked off.

The two Insect Zords combined to form the Thunder Megazord, which promptly began attacking the Dragon Zord. The Dragon Zord stopped its beam of energy so that it could turn its attention to the attacking Thunder Megazord. Whipping its tail around, it began drilling through its opponent.

"Meddlers," Dark Omega called, raising his hands.

"Now!" Ryan told Kimberly.

"Tommy!" Kimberly called out, still in chains next to Billy.

Cam turned to his mother, who nodded hesitantly. "Raijin!" she called.

As predicted, Dark Omega paused, lowing his arms. "Those names no longer hold meaning to me." He grinned and two black tentacles shot out of his body and launched themselves toward the two women.

Cam and Shane managed to streak the two away just in time before prompting them to continue.

"It's me, Miko," Cam's mom continued, glancing at Cam's arms wrapped around her protectively.

"And it's me, Kimberly," the former pink ranger declared, adding, "Tommy, you have to listen! I love you!"

Dark Omega just stood there now, listening.

"And, Raijin, I…" Cam's mom hesitated.

"You can do this," Cam assured her, noticing the struggle on Dark Omega's face.

She nodded. "You know I always had an interest in you. I just didn't pursue it because…" She looked lost in thought.

"And you know I've always loved you!" Kimberly chimed in. "I killed Kat just to be with you!"

"I don't know why I didn't pursue it," Cam's mom continued. "There was something about Kanoi… He was so silly and…" She laughed at something she remembered. "And he used to not take anything too seriously. That's why I thought it would work out between us, especially when our son shared his qualities. But, after Kanoi became a guinea pig… he changed." She bit her lip. "But I think he can change again." She paused, turning to look at the guinea pig now near Ryan. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "I can't do this."

"Don't be stubborn!" grumpy Sensei demanded. "You can do it."

"No, I can't," she disagreed. "I love… you."

Grumpy Sensei gave her a surprised look before hopping onto her shoulder. "Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "You're not the only one surprised," she replied.

"We're going to lose this," Ryan warned as Dark Omega's body began to shake.

Shane looked from the two women to Dark Omega and decided to speak up. "Sensei Omino, we all saw your daughter Leanne when we were in the Mountain of Lost Ninjas. She said she forgives you and that… she loves you."

Dark Omega's body began to convulse as Kimberly called out that she loved Dr. Oliver.

"Aaaaaah!" Dark Omega screamed, his whole body blurring.

"Get ready!" Frax ordered. His men promptly readied their weapons as did Shane, Tori and Cam.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Zord paused in its attack against the Thunder Megazord. This allowed the Megazord a good strong punch that sent the Dragon Zord crashing to the ground.

Snap! Suddenly Dark Omega's body split in two and two separate figures fell to the ground, a small silver amulet dropping between them.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried, her arms suddenly glowing with a pink light. The thick metal chains around her wrists sparkled for a moment before falling off her and, in an instant, she had streaked to the side of one of the two figures, Dr. Oliver.

Dr. Oliver looked up, looking dazed until his eyes met with Kimberly's. "Kim, I didn't mean to do any of it. I'm… sorry. And I love you too."

"I know," she agreed, hugging him.

The other figure looked up, glancing around himself as the Golden Guardians and the Pink Protectors moved in on him and Kimberly. "What have I done…?" the reformed Sensei Omino breathed, blinking back tears. "Leanne…"

"Like, how come I can't do that?" Billy complained, trying to free himself but not succeeding.

Cam turned to his mother, grumpy Sensei still on her shoulder. "Thank you," he told her sincerely.

"No, thank you," she replied, glancing at her guinea pig husband. "I realized something tonight."

"I think we all did," grumpy Sensei agreed.

Meanwhile, Tobi, Sensei, Dustin and Skyla looked back at the others from a distance. "I guess they didn't need us after all," Tobi commented.

Dustin frowned. "It's because I'm not a Power Ranger," he declared.

"But you're still Awesome Dude!" Tobi reminded him.

Dustin grinned slightly. "Yeah," he said, biting his bottom lip.

"And that's more than enough," Tobi told him, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze.

"They were just worried about our safety," Skyla added.

"Right," Tobi agreed, frowning. "Hey, Sensei," he asked the guinea pig on his shoulder. "You know how I was able to train to be a ninja? Do you think Skyla could too?" He offered Skyla a smile.

"I don't know if I could ever be…" Skyla began.

"You can do anything you put your mind to," Sensei replied.

"What about my destiny?" she asked him.

He twitched his nose. "I may have been wrong about the absolute nature of destiny," he conceded.

Tobi gave him a surprised look before noticing the vacant expression on Dustin's normally animated face. "Dustin, what's wrong?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"We have to warn the others," Dustin said, running back toward the carnival.

Overhead, the Dragon Zord had completely stopped moving and the Bradley brothers were having a field day knocking it around with their Thunder Megazord.

Tobi and Skyla exchanged confused looks before following Dustin.

"Look out!" Dustin called just as the ground began to rumble.

Crack! Suddenly the hole where the Dragon Zord's beam had been drilling broke open, the ground collapsing at its sides. A couple Golden Guardians were caught off guard and fell into the earth.

"I thought we told you guys to go back to Ops," Shane scolded as the others caught up with Dustin.

Just then the ground spit in two down the center of the carnival. The Pink Protectors managed to jump away, but their cannon was swallowed up as a huge chasm formed.

Shane streaked over the gap to grab Skyla and streak her out of the way while Dustin dove into Tobi, knocking him away from the slitting ground. The earth ranger ended up on top of the long haired blonde in the process.

"Thanks," Tobi breathed, gazing up at Dustin as he felt the weight of his body on him.

Dustin just stared at Tobi for a moment, blinking.

"I like this position too, but we're going to have to move," Tobi reminded him.

"Oh, sorry," Dustin mumbled. "I just…" He then stood up, helping Tobi to his feet.

"Just…?" Tobi prompted.

Dustin grinned nervously. "I'll tell you later, TZT."

Tobi just nodded, watching Dustin as he checked on the others.

With the Dragon Zord down for the count, Hunter and Blake streaked out of their Thunder Megazord and down to their friends. "You guys okay?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," Dustin assured him before glancing back at the growing chasm.

"What now?" Blake asked, gesturing toward the cracked ground.

"Something's like coming out of the earth," Dustin explained as a gust of steam shot into the air from the crack.

"From the Abyss of Evil," Cam added, giving the others a worried look.

"Ahhhhhhh," a booming voice sighed loudly. Everyone watched as a glowing figure rose out of the abyss, its body slightly blurred by the steam. "I called the amulet to me and it obeyed," the figure declared, reaching out a hand. Instantly, the silver Shade Amulet flew from the collapsing ground to him.

"That's why no matter who possessed the amulet, they wanted to come here," Cam realized outloud, "to open the Abyss of Evil using the Dragon Zord."

"It can't be…" Dr. Oliver mouthed as Kimberly tried to fight off the Golden Guardians that were holding the two down.

"Arise my children!" the figure called back down into the abyss.

Flash! A rainbow of every color of Power Rangers climbed out of the earth and stood below the hovering figure.

"More Power Rangers?" Shane asked, confused.

"They're Power Rangers who were killed," Ryan said, approaching with an arm around Dana.

"I said I'm fine," Dana told her brother, shrugging his arm away.

"None of us will be," Ryan commented.

"Why not?" Blake asked.

"Because he's back," Ryan replied.

"Who?" Hunter asked.

"Zordon," Frax answered as he signaled for his men to attack.

"Zordon?" Dustin repeated. "Isn't he supposed to like be some big head in a tube?"

Ryan gave him a confused look. "This is his human form," he explained, "the one that was killed. He turned to Frax. "Frax, contact my dad and let him know what's happened."

Frax nodded before signaling for Wes.

Behind the evil Power Rangers emerged two more figures, one fat and the other skinny. "The fresh air of freedom," the skinny one commented, "right Professor Bulk?"

"Air? Where?" the fat one replied. "Oh, Master Skull, I made a rhyme!"

The skinny one sighed loudly.

"But Zordon's dead," Tobi commented outloud. "I watched him be destroyed. He can't be…" He waved his hands, but didn't finish his sentence.

Tori put a hand on Tobi's arm. "Tobi calm down," she said quietly.

"He was there," Tobi replied. "He made the Zords and he created the Power Rangers. He's responsible for our mom's death."

Dustin looked from Tobi's expression to Tori's hand and reached out his own hand to touch Tobi's opposite arm. "It'll be okay, TZT," Dustin assured him. "If the dude can die once, he can do it again."

"Right," Tobi nodded, blinking.

"And now, to reclaim the Earth," Zordon exhaled, waving an arm toward the Dragon Zord.

Instantly, the Dragon Zord began transforming into a Megazord. Its arms and legs extended to resemble a more humanoid shape. The new Dragon Megazord then reached out and a staff appeared in its metal hand.

"Go forth and conquer!" Zordon called and the Dragon Megazord began stomping its way back toward downtown Blue Bay Harbor.

Hunter and Blake nodded before streaking back into their Thunder Megazord and following the Dragon Megazord.

Meanwhile, the Pink Protectors and Golden Guardians began attacking the evil Power Rangers. Zordon looked down at Dr. Oliver, Kimberly and Billy. "My children, join the fun," he called. Instantly, the three former rangers spontaneously morphed.

"Woah, like I never saw that coming!" Billy yelled, snapping out of his chains and examining his blue Power Ranger Suit.

"For old time's sake?" Kimberly, now in her pink Power Ranger suit, asked Dr. Oliver, who was in white and gold.

"Kim…" a voice growled, causing Kimberly to look over and see a Power Ranger in an identical suit to hers.

"Kat?" Kimberly replied. "But I killed you…"

"Yeah, so now it's my chance to return the favor," Katherine said before kicking her fellow pink ranger back.

Dr. Oliver started to attack, but, as the two pink rangers tumbled around, he quickly lost track of which one was which. That was when a Power Ranger in red attacked him.

"Rocky?" Billy asked, running over.

The red ranger paused, looking at the blue ranger. "Billy," he greeted.

"Ohmygod!" Billy screamed. "It is you!"

"That's right, butt boy," Rocky said. "It's time to get your ass pounded." He then kicked Billy to the ground before tackling him.

"This is actually really fun," Alyssa commented as she grabbed an evil ranger's head and smashed it into her fist rather than let the fist do the punching.

"Don't get carried away, Alyssa" Dana warned while dodging a rolling attack from Professor Bulk. "We're medics now, not Power Rangers."

"Did I ever tell you why they called me the pink ranger even though I wore white?" Alyssa asked while kicking a male Power Ranger in the crotch.

"Because there was no pink Power Ranger on your team and you frequently wear pink," Dana concluded.

"Yeah, we'll go with that," Alyssa said with a laugh, "and ignore the fact that smeared blood looks pink on a white outfit."

Just then, a tall creature with two long horns on his head approached with Mayor Lothor and several other aliens.

"Dad?" Ryan declared, surprised.

"Governor Diabolico," Frax greeted. "How did you get here so fast?"

"Lothor has been in contact with President Org and I was made aware of the situation," Diabolico explained. "And I'm not alone." He motioned behind him as six enlarged aliens stomped their way toward the battling Dragon Megazord and Thunder Megazord.

"The insect Megazord is on our side," Ryan explained quickly. "Only the Dragon Megazord is being controlled by Zordon, so maybe you can spare a few of them to take on Zordon himself."

"A wise decision, my son," Governor Diabolico agreed.

"Let's do this!" a black wolf growled.

"I'm with Zen-Aku," another demon-like alien agreed.

Diabolico just nodded and the aliens immediately took on the evil Power Rangers.

"Ah, toys," Zordon declared from high in the air above the carnival. He waved a hand and the Dragon Megazord aimed its staff at a giant alien. Instantly, the alien was vaporized. All that remained was falling powder.

"Tengas, attack!" a voice called as two figures appeared out of thin air.

"Former President Zedd! Madam Repulsa!" Frax declared, surprised.

"I hope we're not too late," Zedd commented. "Although I have such a headache."

"Poor baby," Rita Repulsa told him. "You work too hard. It's vacation time after we finally defeat Zordon once and for all."

"You've got a deal, snookums!" Zedd happily agreed before the two looked up at Zordon as a swarm of black bird-like creatures attacked the hovering being.

Zordon crossed his arms for only a moment and the flying tengas instantly became nothing more than falling feathers. "And, now," Zordon called down, "I sense my other amulet is also near." He waved an arm and several kelzacks that Mayor Lothor had brought flew off the ground before shooting through the air and hitting one of the oversized aliens. Upon contact, both the kelzacks and the enlarged alien vaporized. "No, not there," Zordon declared.

Suddenly Frax and Divatox were sucked into the air. "Frax!" Eric and Wes called from below.

Nadira jumped toward Frax and Divatox, managing to grab each by a foot before Eric and Wes dove after them.

"Gold, but not what I'm looking for," Zordon's booming voice called as the five were sent flying through the air.

Just before they collided with one of the giant aliens, Shane and Tori had streaked up and grabbed them. But, as the seven reached the ground, the large alien still vaporized.

"I'm afraid there is no salvation for those I have decided to do away with," Zordon said, wagging his finger before pulling his hands back. An enormous black ball began to form in his palms. Then, pushing his hands forward, the ball launched toward the seven.

As they scattered, Tobi streaked between them and the massive black ball. Raising his arms, he sent out a wave of energy. Instantly the ball flew back toward Zordon, who just knocked it aside. As the ball then hit the ground, it vaporized a building as well as the surrounding kelzacks, Golden Guardians and even evil Power Rangers.

Grumpy Sensei managed to jump into Mayor Lothor, knocking him out of the way just in time. "Thanks," Lothor told him.

"What are brothers for?" grumpy Sensei commented before hopping back to check on his wife.

"Ah, so there it is," Zordon called, staring down at Tobi.

Tobi felt the amulet being pulled toward Zordon, so he held it tightly. Of course, this made him fly off the ground.

"Tobi!" Tori called.

"Stubborn child," Zordon told Tobi, "but easily remedied."

A wall of dark energy flew toward Tobi and he focused all his effort on pushing against it. As he pushed harder, the wall dissipated.

"You have something of mine," Zordon told him. "Give it to me and I will allow you to live."

"If you're talking about the Sun Amulet, it's not yours," Tobi replied, while struggling to keep a hold on the amulet in his hands.

"Of course it's mine," Zordon argued. "Who do you think founded the Dawn Temple thousands of years ago? It will never obey you the way it does me." He tilted his palm and immediately the Sun Amulet began to burn against Tobi's grip.

"Ah!" Tobi screamed as his hands turned black. He wanted to release his grip, but instead he focused on healing his charred palms. "You killed my mother," he said through gritted teeth, "and I'm going to be the one to kill you."

"You'll have to be more specific," Zordon declared. "I have killed so many humans."

"She was an overworked, underpaid mother of twins, myself and my sister," Tobi explained. "We were never the same after that. No one was ever the same."

"So, you care about what became of the survivors," Zordon mused. "I suppose you would be heartbroken if everyone below us were to die at this moment."

Tobi's eyes grew wide as Zordon shot high up into the air until he could no longer be seen. The pull on Tobi's body stopped and he felt back down to the earth. But, before he hit the ground, Dustin had streaked up and caught him. When they landed, Dustin was carrying him bridal style.

"My hero!" Tobi couldn't help but declare as he put his arms around Dustin's neck.

Dustin blushed and shook his head.

"What's that?" Shane asked, drawing their attention to the sky.

Overhead, their view of the moon and stars was obscured in a large, circular area.

"No…" Shane mumbled before turning to the others. "Something… big is coming down on us."

Tobi jumped out of Dustin's arms and looked up while forcing a wave of energy against the massive descending black ball. This time, the ball of dark energy was several miles wide and he had a hard time forcing a wave of energy against all of it.

Blast! Tobi's repelling force managed to bounce back most of the dark energy, but it still left a narrow circular line in a several mile wide radius around the circus. Where the band of dark energy hit, building and even streets were turned to dust.

High in the air, Zordon knocked the ball aside, but Tobi was ready for this and forced it back upward. It kept going until it left the atmosphere. As the moon came into view, a new crater formed on its surface, one so large that it could be seen from Earth.

"Tobi, use the Gem of Souls," Skyla told him as she approached.

"What?" Tobi asked.

"I don't know," Skyla replied while Shane streaked to her and put an arm around her protectively. She looked at Shane. "It's just a feeling."

Shane looked from Skyla to Tobi, shaking his head. "We're not doing this."

"No, wait," Tobi objected. "I have an idea. The Gem of Souls is in the Dragon Megazord, right?"

"Yes," Cam said as he gave Tobi a warning look.

"Okay," Tobi replied, nodding.

"If your plan involves sacrificing yourself again, you can forget about it," Tori warned.

"It's not _that_ kind of a plan," he assured them. "When I touched the Dragon Zord, it started to transform. I might be able to get inside it and control it."

"I'm not sure about this plan," Tori said, concerned.

"If you have another idea, let me know," Tobi suggested.

The others exchanged concerned looks before the Sensei on Tobi's shoulder spoke up. "You can do it."

Tobi turned to him, surprised.

"It may be your destiny," Sensei told him.

"Even though I'm choosing it?" Tobi asked.

"_Because_ you are choosing it," Sensei concluded.

"Right," Tobi said, grinning as Sensei hopped over to Cam's shoulder.

Dustin put his hands on both Tobi's arms, stopping him. "TZT," he said slowly, "I belive in you, but I… I want you to know why I believe in you. I…" He bit his bottom lip.

"Dustin," Tobi said with a smile, "I love you too." He gave him a quick kiss before streaking off toward the Dragon Megazord, leaving Dustin's arms empty.

"He'll be okay," Tori told Dustin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He has to be…"

"Blake and Hunter," Shane called into his morpher. "Guys, hold up on attacking the Dragon Megazord. Tobi's gonna try… something." Hunter could clearly be heard making a growl-like sigh.

Nearby, Cam commented, "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"He is following his inner ninja," Sensei assured his son.

Cam just nodded while Tobi streaked to the top of the Dragon Megazord and looked around for a hatch or door. When he spotted it, he touched the metal surface with one hand while holding the Sun Amulet in the other. Immediately, the hatch turned gold and then opened. He took one look around at all the massive aliens and Thunder Megazord before slipping inside.

As he climbed down the head of the Dragon Megazord, he passed a cockpit. Continuing down the ladder, he looked for the heart of the giant robot. At last, he came to a hollowed out area filled with a collection of small glowing gem fragments. They cast an eerie green light around him as he quickly went about gathering up the fragments.

Once the last fragment was removed, he turned to leave. As he did so, he leaned on the interior of the Dragon Megazord's heart that he was in. As he did so, energy flowed from the Sun Amulet toward the wall and it began to turn gold. He paused, turning back to the center of the small enclosure and thinking. He reached out and set the Sun Amulet down carefully where the fragments of the Gem of Souls had been. Immediately, both the amulet and the interior began to glow.

"I hope this works," Tobi said as he turned around and climbed back up to the cockpit that he had seen earlier. Clank! Click! Thump! All around him, the Dragon Megazord began to transform and turn gold.

Down on the ground, the others looked up as the Dragon Megazord began to form a massive winged gold bird, a phoenix.

"Woah, dude!" Dustin declared. "TZT did it!"

Hunter and Blake streaked down to the others. "Does he know what he's doing?" Hunter immediately asked.

"I hope so," Tori told him quietly as the Phoenix Zord flew up into the air toward Zordon.

"I'm here!" a voice called as the others turned to see Kapri running over.

"Kapri!" Dustin called. "Where's Marah?"

"Geo and Destiny are asleep, so she's like keeping an eye on them," Kapri explained.

"Our last Pink Protector made it," Nadira greeted Kapri.

"You're a Pink Protector?" Tori asked skeptically.

"It's the pink hair," Shane whispered.

"Nadira's my…" Kapri began, thinking, "great great great granddaughter."

The others looked at Nadira.

"So, she missed a few greats," Nadira commented. "A thousand years in the future is a long time."

The others stared at her blankly, except for Dustin, who nodded. "Totally," he agreed.

Kapri then joined the fight against the evil Power Rangers, using a freeze ability on them.

Zap! A blast of energy shot from a puffy looking blue ninja ranger, but Dana dove in front of it before the beam could hit her brother Ryan. The impact sent her flying into the abyss.

Suddenly a hand gripper hers and stopped her descent. She looked up to see Governor Diabolico. "Dad?" she asked as Ryan helped them both up.

"Why did you feel it necessary to nearly give your own life for your brother's?" Diabolico asked.

"Because you've always loved him more," Dana confessed as the two climbed back to the surface.

"Why would you think…" Diabolico began before pausing. "It is true that I have shown some favoritism in the past," he conceded, "but I never knew it affected you so. You never were one to make your feelings known." He held her closer. "I am sorry and I love you both… equally."

She smiled up at her father.

"Ah, a smile from my daughter," Diabolico commented. "This must be the end of the world."

"Pretty much," Ryan agreed, looking around.

Behind them, Bulk and Skull were blasted back by Rita and Zedd, but the two quickly regained their footing.

"Cannonball?" Bulk asked.

"Cannonball," Skull repeated and Bulk rolled his body into Rita and Zedd, who were knocked over like bowling pins.

Nearby, Zen-Aku jumped aside just before he spotted an evil ranger in a blue wolf suit. "Ah, Merrick," he growled, "so our paths cross again."

"I had a lot of time in the abyss to think about what I did," Merrick told him. "And I regret it."

"Somehow I doubt that," Zen-Aku replied with a strong kick to Merrick's gut.

"I don't want to fight you," Merrick pleaded, raising his hands.

"But I want to fight you," Zen-Aku assured him.

Merrick blocked his attack this time. "Look inside yourself and you'll see that we're still one."

Zen-Aku paused in the middle of his attack before suddenly turning to the side and smashing Skull into Bulk with his fist. He glanced at Merrick, but didn't say anything more.

Merrick nodded before turning to attack his fellow evil Power Rangers, Zen-Aku by his side.

Meanwhile, high up in the air, the Phoenix Zord shot a ray of concentrated gold light at Zordon, but he simply waved the energy away. "You are no match for me," he declared.

The hatch on top of the Phoenix Zord opened and Tobi climbed out, his hair blowing wildly in the wind. "Five years ago, I was helpless," he said, stepping onto the top of the Phoenix Zord's head. "I couldn't save my mom and my sister had to leave her to save me." He shook his head. "But now, I'm anything but helpless and it's time for you to pay."

"Ah, but it is you who will pay," Zordon disagreed, waving his hand.

Tobi was nearly thrown off the Phoenix Zord as it bucked wildly in the air. He fell to his knees while trying to stay balanced.

"As you can see, I am ultimately in control," Zordon told him with a laugh. "The Shade and Sun amulets are equally matched, just as light and dark are equal, and I control them both."

Tobi looked up at the glowing figure before him. "That's where you're wrong. Shadows are just the absence of light. Darkness is nothing by itself, but light is something."

"Ah, but darkness can also be something," Zordon disagreed. "It can be death." He pointed to the ground and Tobi tried to deflect whatever he was doing, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. He wasn't sure if his friends were okay. He wasn't even sure if Dustin was okay… And, as he looked down at his wrist, he saw that he no longer had a communicator to find out.

Tobi felt his eyes begin to glow as his hands closed into fists. This had to end now, he thought to himself. In his tight palm, he felt the fragments of the Gem of Souls and could sense the strands of life reaching out from the pieces and intertwining with his own life force. That was when he threw them directly at Zordon and pictured fire in his mind.

Instantly, the fragments exploded on contact with Zordon in a blazing flash of light and burning energy. When the light faded, he began to drop from the sky.

At the same time, so did the Phoenix Zord. Unfortunately, this also meant that Tobi was falling too. Climbing back into the Phoenix Zord, he managed to regain control and land just as Zordon's body hit the earth.

Flash! On the ground, the array of different colored Power Rangers suddenly unmorphed. This included Dr. Oliver and Kimberly, who approached the fallen Zordon as the glowing from his body began to flicker.

Dr. Oliver reached out, taking the Shade Amulet out of Zordon's hand.

Suddenly Zordon's eyes shot open and he looked up at Dr. Oliver. "Stop!" he demanded, reaching out weakly. "Traitor! But I will have the last laugh. It obeys only me!"

Kimberly looked at Dr. Oliver, concern in her eyes as he looked from her down to the amulet in his hands. He paused before shrugging and then tossing the Shade Amulet into the chasm behind him, where it tumbled down into the Abyss of Evil.

Immediately, Kimberly hugged him and he hesitated only momentarily before hugging her back.

"You're under arrest!" Wes called, approaching Zordon with Eric as the glow from Zordon's body stopped completely and he became a shriveled up old bald man.

"Have pity on me!" Zordon begged. "My powers are gone. I am helpless."

"I happen to know from experience never to trust you," Zedd warned as he approached Eric and Wes. "And I think President Org feels the same way."

"Yay!" Rita cheered. "Now it's vacation time!"

Zedd did a little dance with Rita as Tobi streaked down to check on the others. "Guys?" he called out.

"TZT, dude, you were awesome!" Dustin called, running up to him with Skyla, who had Sensei on her shoulder.

"Is everyone okay?" Tobi asked. "My communicator's gone for some reason, so I couldn't check on you guys from up there."

"We're fine, Tobi," Tori told him as she approached.

"Hey, Tor!" Dustin greeted. "Check out TZT's new Zord!"

"It's a phoenix," Cam commented, approaching with his mother. "Born from the ashes of death to new life." The others looked at him blankly. "Or so the legend goes," he added.

"Hold on," Tobi called, streaking back to the Zord before returning with the Sun Amulet.

"What happened to the Shade Amulet?" Cam asked.

"It was thrown into the abyss," Shane explained as he approached with Hunter and Blake.

Tobi turned to the massive gap in the earth and then back to Dustin. "We need to seal this thing."

Dustin grinned. "Finally, a job for Awesome Dude!" He placed his hands on his hips before bending over and touching the ground.

Rumble! The ground began to shake as the abyss slowly sealed itself, the two pieces of land reforming together. The others looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Now I bet you guys are glad we didn't bail on you," Dustin declared happily.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Shane apologized, throwing an arm over Dustin's shoulder and another around Skyla, "but we worry about you."

"I thought Tori's supposed to be the one who worries," Dustin pointed out.

"We all worry about the people we care about," Cam told him while glancing at his mother with grumpy Sensei on her shoulder.

"Cam's right," Hunter agreed, nodding.

"So, that means you care about me?" Tobi asked, surprised.

Hunter furrowed his brow. "Yeah," he agreed. "You're my friend."

Tobi offered him a smile before wondering outloud, "So, where do we keep the Zord?"

"I'll think of something," Cam offered.

"Don't worry about a thing," Goldwinger said, landing next to them. "I've got things covered!"

Just then, Ryan ran over to him. "Goldie!" he greeted happily. "Thanks for convincing the others to help out and explaining the whole not all Power Rangers are evil thing."

"Anything for my studmuffin Ry!" Goldwinger replied.

"Goldwinger," Sensei addressed from on Skyla's shoulder. "Have you already checked on the other dimension as I asked?"

"Been there, done that," Goldwinger replied. "I think they're asleep. All's quiet in human-run Blue Bay Harbor.

"Thank you," Sensei told him.

"Anytime," Goldwinger replied before turning to Ryan. "Ah, look, sunrise is approaching. Care to grab a morning coffee and then… who knows?"

Ryan looked Hunter up and down once more before turning back to Goldwinger. "Sure," he agreed. "Let me just ask Frax something."

"What is it, Mr. Mitchell?" Frax asked as he watched Wes and Eric haul Zordon away while the Golden Guardians, Pink Protectors and kelzacks rounded up the now unmorphed evil Power Rangers as well as Professor Bulk and Master Skull.

"I'm thinking of calling it a day, or night," Ryan told Frax. "How are things?"

"We will be alright from here on out," Frax assured him. "We appreciate your help, and so does your father. "He pointed to Diabolico, who was talking to Dana.

"I guess things worked out in the end," Ryan commented before turning to Goldwinger, who put his winged arm in Ryan's as they walked toward the sunrise.

"Did you see that blonde hunk back there?" Goldwinger asked Ryan.

"How could I miss him?" Ryan replied, chuckling as they departed.

"Aw, man, saving the Twilight Zone is hard work," Dustin commented, yawning.

"So, Sensei," Shane addressed, "do you want us to go back to our dimension in Goldwinger's Zord right now?"

"Right now?" Blake repeated.

"They'll probably detect us crossing over," Cam interrupted before Sensei could answer, "and we're in no condition to fight."

"We're not?" Tobi asked.

"He's saying we're tired, Tobi," Tori chimed in.

"Under the circumstances, I agree with Cam," Sensei stated. "We will rest before devising a plan and returning to our proper dimension."

"Yeah, and I have some people I wanna say goodbye to," Dustin added.

Tobi and Hunter both looked at him with raised eyebrows. They knew that wasn't going to be easy.

"Yeah," Cam agreed. "I know how you feel, Dustin." He looked over at his mother as grumpy Sensei motioned her away to talk more privately.

"Then it's settled," Shane declared, turning to Skyla. "We head back to Ninja Ops and… rest."

The others nodded. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm still kinda hyped up on adrenaline and I was dead for a while, so…" Tobi began before noticing the looks from the others. "Um, nevermind. Sleep sounds good."

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The group returned to Ninja Ops and, despite what Tobi had said, even he was out cold the moment his head hit the floor of the main room. And, as he drifted off to sleep while the others found various spots in Ninja Ops to crash, Dustin curled up next to him and fell asleep too.

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To be continued...**_

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Author's Note:**__ So it looks like no one will be quite the same when they get back to their dimension as when they left. I will use the previous poll to decide who goes back, but **PLEASE remember to vote in the new poll too!**_

_And, remember, if you're bored, you can check out the story __**Any Moment **__by __**Rebel Paisley**__ (listed under my Favorites) or some of my other stories._


	31. Somewhere To Belong

**NEW POLL****: **_**Who should Hunter end up with?**_** PLEASE take just a moment to vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing. Oh, and I added something to my DeviantART account to show you some possibilities...  
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**LAST POLL RESULTS: **_Who should Tobi end up with?_ Winning with 75% of the vote is…. (drumroll please!) …. good Dustin! Runner up with 25% of the vote is evil Dustin. In my first ever poll, the results paired good Dustin up with Hunter (I guess people didn't really like Tobi yet…), so please vote in this new poll to decide who Hunter ends up with!

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rogue-ranger .deviantart .com **__Go there to see lots of great stuff (take out the spaces to use this link)! Check it out! Oh, and Il have a poster for this chapter (and the next will be up soon)!_

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_Author's Notes: _**_For those of you who read the previous chapter before I added in a very brief scene between Zen-Aku and Merrick, I'll summarize it by saying that Merrick comes out of the abyss evil and the two face off, but they eventually join forces (for good). Special thanks to Ruon jian for noticing that I forgot to include that scene!_

_I try to do something different with this chapter. You see, I wanted to add a flashback or backstory for part of Tobi's past before he is reunited with his old "friends" and this seems like the best point in the story to insert it, so I do it in the form of a dream Tobi has before he wakes up. Originally, this was supposed to be a really long chapter about resolutions and goodbyes, but I've decided that this will do for now and the next chapter will further the story and be quite long. I probably won't have it up until next weekend at the earliest. Sorry! But it will have drama and humor, so it'll be worth the wait! Speaking of wait, at least this chapter means you don't have to wait like two weeks..._

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Review Comments:**_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for the praise! I was thinking what you might like when I wrote the Alyssa part. As for your story, I can't say that I relate to losing anything to a hard drive crash because it's never happened to me, but I'll say that I write everything in my notebook first and then type it up later. Also, once I type it up, I email it to myself. And I can't wait for your quadruple X NS miniseries filled with Dustiny goodness!_

_Thanks **Ruon jian **for pointing out that I forgot to include the brief encounter between Zen-Aku and Merrick in the previous chapter! I went back and added it into the mix, so anyone else who hadn't read the chapter (or wants to read it again!) will see it. And, yes, everyone is going home and it will be interesting to explore what happens with Tobi's old "friends," but I felt like I needed this brief backstory first._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for the constant support for Tobi/Dustin! Yay! They'll be together! The poll was a nail biter until suddenly a bunch of people voted and it shot up to 75% for T/D. That being said, I will still stick to the poll before that for who ends up in the good dimension. Oh, and here's your opportunity to vote for who Hunter ends up with… (hint, hint)… Either way it goes, I think I have to have at least a little Hunter/Tori in the next chapter. ;) I'll also throw in a Ryan farewell next time. For now, it's Tobi time…_

_Thanks **Magichalo** for your always thorough reviews! I depend on them a lot! I really wanted the last chapter to be epic, but, as I said in the author's note, I wasn't really feeling it. So, yes, it was a little rushed. I'll be honest that I still don't feel as comfortable doing action than doing drama. I'm trying to change that, since I need to expand my writing abilities, but it's a slow process. Drama and humor are definitely my two favorite genres to write. As far as the Dragon Zord transforming into the Phoenix Zord, I couldn't resist the whole death and rebirth thing that phoenix's represent. It also made it clearly separate from when the Zord was evil and I felt that was important. And, lastly, I really like your ideas for what happens when they get back to their dimension! I'm not sure exactly what I'll do, but I have a general idea (fight then befriend evil rangers, work together against something, part ways). The whole floating city idea reminded me of the floating land in Wild Force. But we'll see what happens. For now, I was thinking about what you said about Tobi developing as a character and what other people said about how his former friends would react and I felt a back story would enhance that meetup._

_Thanks **DenialBrigader** for liking my story enough to read it every hour you're awake (with breaks to eat and sleep and stuff)! And thanks for voting! It looks like your choice reigned supreme and I'll be doing some interesting things with Tobi and Dustin in the future. That is, after this chapter. I just had to get something out there or you'd be waiting forever for another chapter and what would you do then? Sleep 8 hours a night? Who does that? Seriously!_

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for the praise and encouragement! I'm glad you liked the Phoenix idea. I couldn't resist it after Tobi died. And, as for Skyla's element, I don't know either. Of the things you listed, only wood and metal aren't used in Ninja Storm. But I'm wondering if Wood qualifies as Earth, since Fire falls under Air. Then, Skyla needs something different than metal or some element like that. Yeah, still uncertain at this point. As far as shouting words to bring on attacks taking longer than Power Rangers, one of the good things about Ninja Storm was that it showed that the Power Rangers do morph instantaneously and that the whole flashy morphing sequence is just for the audience. For example, when Shane morphs in the episode "Eye of the Storm." And, I ran across the name Tori for a guy somewhere else, but now I can't remember where…_

_Thanks **abovetheodds** for noticing the Tori and Tobi typos! Unfortunately, I started re-reading the story and I was like, "I'm such a sloooow reader!" and I think I just gave up at some point after not noticing anything (and my eyes starting to hurt). It's so easy to get those names mixed up (only having a letter difference). I don't usually re-read what I write once I've typed it up because I hate staring at the screen. What I do is hand write it and then read it over. Ah! My eyes burn now! Okay, enough drama. I don't suppose you can remember which chapters had the errors and I could just go over those specific ones? (*crosses fingers*) Anyway, Tobi and Dustin all the way! Yes, I'm jealous too, but I just try to live vicariously through Tobi. As for his character development, I wanted some more clarification in his past, so I wrote this chapter. They will get back soon…_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Using Cam's mother and Kimberly to distract Dark Omega works and he splits back into Dr. Oliver and Sensei Omino. Unfortunately, the Shade Amulet is taken by Zordon who emerges from the Abyss of Evil with his army of evil Power Rangers. It's an all out battle as past forces once again collide while Tobi uses the Sun Amulet to transform the Dragon Zord into the Phoenix Zord. With his new Zord, Tobi faces Zordon one on one and blames him for his mother's death. But, though Tobi was weak back then, he's now anything but weak. He uses his powers along with the remains of the Gem of Souls to finally defeat Zordon and strip him of his powers. Dustin then seals the Abyss of Evil with the Shade Amulet inside. Exhausted, the rangers return to Ninja Ops for some much needed rest before they are to return to their dimension and, as Tobi falls asleep, Dustin curls up next to him...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 31 (Somewhere To Belong)**

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~ Just Over 5 Years Ago ~

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"We interrupt our regularly scheduled programing to bring you this emergency bulletin," a bug-like alien announced from the television. "The evil ancient being known as Zordon has once again stepped up his attacks, using his so called Power Rangers and Zords to…"

"Hey!" Tobi yelled, flipping his hair out of his face as if it were creating an optical illusion. No, his favorite show was still being preempted. "They're interrupting Pinky and the Brain _again_! There should be some limit to this or something," he complained, leaning forward on the couch and bunching up his gold shirt and blue shorts as if he were preparing to throw his clothes at the screen.

"Tobi, we're almost teenagers," Tori reminded him, as if he'd forgotten their birthday coming up. "Maybe it's time you stop watching cartoons," she added, joining him on the couch.

He stared at his twin as if she had tentacles growing out of her head instead of even longer blonde hair than his.

"What?" she asked, grabbing the remote.

"It's no use," he told her, but she still insisted on flipping through the channels. Yes, the newscaster was talking about the Zord attacks on every channel.

"I'm missing Waves of Passion," she complained.

"Too bad," he replied, groaning. "Isn't that show for old people?"

"If, by old people you mean mature, then yes," she informed him while waiting patiently through the newscast while giant robotic Zords were shown stomping through cities.

"How is it we're the same age when you act so old?" he asked, impatiently twiddling his thumbs.

"You mean _you_ act so childish?" she accused. "Girls mature earlier than boys."

"I thought I matured early too," he pointed out.

"Just because you started liking boys so early doesn't mean anything," she suggested, letting her body fall sideways on the couch so that he had to support her back against his side. "I keep telling you, you might start liking girls any day now."

He stuck his finger in his mouth and gagged dramatically. She jabbed him with her elbow. "I'm just tired of waiting to find out if Dustin's gonna like girls or guys," he told her.

"Don't hold your breath, little brother," she warned, suddenly paying attention as the broadcast ended and the regular programming resumed.

"Hey!" he protested. "I was watching Pinky and the Brain!"

"I'm sure it's over by now," she commented, not really caring. "You snooze, you loose," she added as she became engrossed in the bikini clad humans and aliens as they talked about all their ridiculous relationship problems.

"Come on!" he begged. "I'll be really nice to you! I'll be your slave!" he offered.

She grinned. "Slaves have to do what their masters say," she reminded him. "And your master says you have to tell Dustin how you feel about him."

"I can't!" he insisted. "I have to at least know which he likes first."

"You'd definitely find out pretty fast," she suggested, "especially if he punches you in the face. That would be a no." She chuckled lightly.

"Tori!" he yelled.

"Oh well," she said, hiding the remote in her blue tank top.

"Stop being a jerk!" he insisted.

"Don't tell me you two are fighting again," a voice came from behind them. The two turned to see their mother arriving home. She set her purse and a single bag of groceries on the kitchen table and then rubbed her eyes while leaning against the table. She looked tired, but she looked that way a lot recently.

"You okay, mom?" Tobi asked, getting up from the couch. There was no point in sitting there since he knew his sister was never going to change the channel.

His mother lowered her hand from her face and looked down at her son. "I'm fine, honey," she assured him. "Now, will you and Tori give me a hand with dinner?"

"Sure," he agreed before yelling his sister's name as if she were several rooms away.

"Just a few more minutes until the commercial break," she insisted.

Tobi started to empty the grocery bag and frowned at what he found. "Canned food _again_?" he complained.

"It was on sale," his mother replied, putting the carton of human milk flavored soymilk in the fridge. "We really can't afford that much right now."

"Why not?" he asked, making faces and willing the cans to become frozen pizza flavored ice cream."

"The real estate market isn't what it used to be," she told him. "Everyone's afraid Blue Bay Harbor will be next." She stared at the can of soup in her hand too long, her eyes becoming distant.

"But the Zords have never been this far south," he insisted. "They always attack up around Angel grove and places like that. They probably got lost when they attacked Fresno."

She put down the can of soup. "Yeah, probably," she said quietly before brushing her son's hair aside and kissing his forehead. "Things will work out somehow." She forced a stoic smile.

He stared up at his mother, confused by her sudden show of affection. She kept acting stranger and stranger, ever since all the Zord attacks started up again recently.

A clattering sound drew their attention to the front door, where the twins' father was entering. "Hey, sweetheart," he greeted Tori while producing a large box.

"What did you bring me?" she asked excitedly, hopping up from the couch.

"Well, I hear it's someone's birthday," he told her, opening the box to reveal a cake.

"Wow…" she breathed. "It's so… _blue_. I love it! Thanks, daddy!" She gave him a quick hug while trying not to disrupt his hold on the box. "Oh, but you forgot to put Tobi's name on it," she realized.

"Yeah, well there wasn't enough room," he grumbled, hastily closing the box and walking past Tobi to hand it to their mom. "Here, put this in the fridge."

"How much did this cost?" she asked, looking down at the box. "You know we can't afford to spend money like—"

"It was my money to spend," he snapped at her. "Just put the cake in the fridge. My little girl is becoming a woman. That deserves something, doesn't it?"

"I was actually going to make a cake…" their mother replied quietly.

"Yeah, whatever," he told her dismissively. "I'm going out drinking with the guys. I'll be back once dinner's ready." He then walked over to Tori and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See you later." And, with that, he left after just a few minutes. At least he never seemed to change. Ever since Tori had outed his attraction to guys to his parents, his father had been ignoring him.

"It's okay," their mother said to herself. "We'll make this work. I'll add your name to the cake, Tobi, and the flour I bought will last. Maybe we'll even have pancakes. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Uh, yeah," Tobi replied, giving her a suspicious look. "Mom, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, honey," she assured him again before pausing. "But I think you and your sister should have your party somewhere else."

"Why?" Tori asked, approaching and leaning on Tobi's shoulders just to annoy him.

Their mother sighed, glancing away. "I didn't want to bring this up until after your birthday, but I'm going to be showing the house."

"This house?" Tobi asked, confused. "Why?"

"The mortgage payments are more than the house is now worth," she explained. "I've found a small apartment that's in our budget and you two can share a room again just like—"

"Mom!" Tori protested. "I'm getting boobs!" Her mother cringed for a moment. "I can't share my room with Tobi like we're still little kids."

"Honey, you can just change in the bathroom," she suggested.

"I guess it's not like he would care I have boobs," she commented, giving her brother a sideways glance.

He shook his head. "It'll be fine, mom," he said.

"But where will we have our party?" she asked, gesturing around with her arms.

"How about at the beach?" their mother suggested.

"A beach party!" both Tori and Tobi said in unison.

Their mother smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll leave the planning up to you."

"You're not going to be there?" Tobi asked.

"I'm showing the house, remember?" she replied.

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled. "Maybe we should move the day of the party."

"No way!" Tori argued. "That's the whole point of having a summer birthday. We get to celebrate on the day instead of having to wait for a weekend."

He just shrugged. "Okay," he agreed. "But we'll have a separate party later."

"Whatever you say," Tori said dismissively as she turned around. "I have to tell the others it's a beach party. They're gonna freak!"

* * *

"Man, this is perfect weather for a beach party," Shane commented as he stripped off his shirt and turned up the music from the portable stereo system.

"I put in a good word to the weatherman," Tori said with a laugh as she made sure none of the decorations were going to blow away.

The twins were at the beach in the afternoon of their thirteenth birthday. Dustin and Shane were already there helping set up, but it was only a few minutes later that more of their friends arrived, all in beach wear.

Tobi couldn't help but stare as Dustin removed his shirt. Dustin seemed to notice and tossed his shirt onto Tobi's head. It smelled strongly of the wavy haired brunet and Tobi couldn't help but wonder if the stronger smell meant that Dustin was finally coming to the point where he'd either be attracted to guys or girls.

"Hey, Dustin, Tobi has something to tell you," Tori suddenly spoke up, hitting her brother in the back with her elbow.

"Tori!" he growled at his sister.

"I bet I know what it is!" Shane whispered to Dustin with a chuckle. But he quickly became distracted when Ashley showed up in a bikini that showed off her newly grown breasts.

"Well?" Dustin asked Tobi impatiently.

"Well what?" Tobi asked, blinking.

"Whatever," Dustin said, shaking his head and walking over to the cake. "Is it time for cake yet, Tori?"

"I don't know," she replied, looking at her brother. "Expecting any of your friends to show?"

"I thought they were my friends too," he suggested.

She laughed. "I meant friends of your own," she explained. "They're _my_ friends."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled. "I thought…"

"I'm your friend," Sprocket, a short robotic looking alien told him. "But it's probably only because you remind me of your sister. She is _hot_! When did she get them apples?"

"Apples?" Tobi repeated, looking at his sister.

"Nevermind," Sprocket groaned, leaving to join the other party goers.

Tobi looked around until he found his beat up surf board. "I'm going to go surf," he announced. "Anyone want to join me?"

The others mostly ignored him, though a few commented on how lame surfing was. "Don't drown, stick boy," Mike commented while Zevria whispered, "Maybe he'll get eaten by a shark. That would be so awesome!"

Still, he didn't care. He enjoyed the feeling of being one with a wave. It was also the only thing he seemed to be good at. So, he proceeded into the water and used his arms to paddle his board out into the ocean.

After a few good small waves an a couple wipe outs, he headed back to the party, which had moved further down the beach, where a volleyball net was set up and some of Tori's friends were heading toward the water.

He returned to the tables set up and saw that the cake had already been eaten. He looked around for his sister and stomped over to her. "You were supposed to leave me a piece!" he insisted. "It's my birthday too!"

"You snooze you lose," she replied, waving to Kira, a blonde girl who was just arriving. "Hey," she called. "You missed the best part!"

"Sorry about that," Kira called back as she ran over. "My parents just got back. We were on vacation, but they heard that some Zords were headed this way and wanted to have the stuff packed just in case."

"You think they'd really come down here?" Tobi asked.

"Oh, hey, you have a twin brother," Kira commented. "Since when?"

"Since all her life," Tobi replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't you have to tell Dustin something?" Tori told him.

"Fine," he grumbled, walking off to find Dustin.

Dustin was standing off to the side of the beach, watching some of their friends play volleyball.

"Hey," Tobi greeted.

Dustin glanced over at him. "Yeah, hey," he replied back.

"Having fun?" Tobi asked lamely.

Dustin just shrugged. "I'd rather be finishing up building that robot."

"Oh, yeah, how's that coming along?" Tobi asked.

"Alright, I guess," Dustin replied with another shrug.

Tobi looked around at the scantily clad teens. "So, you see anyone who… interests you?"

Dustin gave him a sideways glance. "Yeah, there's a few. I only go for humans, though. Aliens don't really do anything for me. My dad says it's the aliens' fault that he lost his job. Maybe I'm biased."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled. "So, only humans, huh? I see…" Great, this was not going at all how he'd hoped it would. He decided to pick out someone. "What do you think of Ashley?"

"She's an airhead," he replied. "Not really my type."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled again. He looked at Dustin and noticed how the sunlight seemed to make his brown eyes look gold. "Do you think I'm an airhead?" he asked out of nowhere.

Dustin gave him a strange look and opened his mouth. But then he closed it again. Finally he said, "Yeah, you're an airhead." He then walked around Tobi and over to Kira. "Hey, Kira, looking _good_!"

Tobi watched Dustin flirt with Kira as she joined the others and he felt his heart sink. Almost his whole life he'd been waiting for this moment, for the moment that Dustin would finally be attracted to either guys or girls. And now Tobi knew…. Dustin liked girls.

Tobi turned and ran up the beach, his eyes watering. Suddenly he ran into his sister and the two tumbled to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she snapped before seeing the hurt on her brother's face. "Geeze, what's wrong? We barely hit each other."

He didn't say anything, instead he just walked around her.

She spun around, grabbing him by his arm. "Tobi, what's wrong?" she asked more seriously this time.

"Dustin likes girls," he said flatly.

"Oh," she replied. "Look, you had to have seen that coming."

"Yeah, maybe," he mumbled.

"Here," she said, holding out a small box. "I was getting this for you. It's a gift from mom, since she can't be here."

He wiped his eyes and took the box from his sister. "Thanks," he told her as he opened the box to reveal a necklace decorated with small shells of various colors. "She bought this?" he gasped, immediately putting the necklace on.

"She made it," Tori corrected, staring at the necklace. "She made me one too, but I'm not the one obsessed with the beach. I guess she was really thinking of you at the time."

He wrapped his arms around his sister and hugged her. "Thanks," he whispered, surprised.

"Don't go getting all crybaby on me now," she warned.

"Did dad get me anything?" he asked as he released her.

She frowned. "No," she admitted. "He got me a new cd rack since I was saying I needed one."

"Yeah," Tobi replied, looking off into the distance. He wiped his eyes again, thinking he was seeing things. Blinking, it looked like a building was moving in the distant horizon.

Tori turned to see what her brother was looking at and her mouth fell open.

Just then, a car sped right onto the beach, piles of boxes tied to its roof. A man hopped out and called, "Kira! Kira!"

Hearing her name, Kira ran over as her parents motioned for her to get in the car. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We're leaving now!" her father shouted. "The Zords are in Blue Bay Harbor!"

Because of how odd it was to have a car speed onto the beach and then speed off just as quickly, the other party goers gathered together to try to figure out what was going on.

"Oh my god!" Ashley screamed. "It's a… Zord!" She covered her mouth with one hand while pointing into the horizon with the other.

"It looks like it's heading through downtown toward…" Dustin began before turning to look at Tori, Tobi and Shane.

"Toward what?" Tori asked.

"Toward our neighborhood," he finished.

"Mom," Tobi whispered, immediately running away from the beach.

"Tobi!" his sister yelled, running after him.

* * *

Everyone left the beach in a hurry. Since Tori, Tobi, Dustin and Shane all lived on the same side of town, they left together. But, when the four arrived in their neighborhood, a massive Zord that looked like a transformed space ship was already stomping its way through houses. Their neighborhood was being steadily demolished.

"I'm gonna check on my brother," Shane yelled before running off.

This left Tori, Tobi and Dustin, who were closest to the twins' house.

Blast! Suddenly a beam of light flew out from the Zord, obliterating everything in its path, including the roof of the twins' house.

"Mom!" Tobi yelled, running into the collapsing house.

Crash! He had to jump out of the way as a chunk of roof nearly crushed him.

"Tobi!" he heard his mother cry out. Running into the kitchen, he found her lying under the fridge, which had toppled over.

Nearby, the entire side of the house had collapsed, revealing the front yard. That was when he noticed someone under the rubble.

"Her name was Trini," his mother explained through grunts of pain. "I was showing her the house when—"

Just then, the roof collapsed onto the nearby cabinets, which made the entire wall begin to tumble down on top of the toppled fridge. Tobi rushed to his mother's side and tried to lift the fridge. He had never in his life wished he had muscles more than he did then. It was a million times more important to him at that moment than during any of the times his friends called him a wimp.

"I'll get help for both of you," he told his mother.

"Honey…" she whispered. "She's dead."

He froze for a moment, looking back at the arm sticking out of the nearby rubble. Then, without warning, the ground shook and the entire building collapsed on him and his mother.

As the ground continued to vibrate in an ominous stomping pattern, Tobi reached out, feeling around for an escape.

"Tobi!" he heard his sister yell as she dug around near him.

"Over here!" he yelled.

"Dustin, give me a hand," her voice called before screaming, "Where are you going?"

There was more digging around him until a piece of wood was removed from over Tobi's head and he could see his sister's panicked face. "Tori!" he greeted as he tried to help her remove the wreckage from around him.

She grunted as she pulled on his body. "Come on!" she yelled.

Tobi heaved and the large chunk of whatever was covering his lower body until it started to move. "Mom's around here too," he told his sister.

"Tobi…" his mother's voice chocked out from somewhere close by.

"Mom, we're right here," he called. "We're going to get you out."

"I'm sorry," Tori whispered, giving Tobi one solid yank, which released his body from the rubble. The two fell backward, where she grabbed his legs, pulling them toward her just as—Smash!—a giant foot crushed the remains of the house into the ground, barely missing the two by less than six inches before continuing to stomp away.

Tobi stared at the footprint left behind and blinked. "Mom…" he whispered.

"I couldn't save you both," Tori told him quietly while also staring at the impression in the earth.

"Are you two okay?" a gruff voice asked. The two looked over to see Shane standing nearby, his face twisted into something between grief and anger.

"Our mom…" Tori whispered. "I couldn't save them both," she repeated blankly.

Shane nodded. "Porter," was all he said.

"Your brother…" Tobi began, unable to finish the sentence.

"He died saving me," Shane said coldly.

Just then, Dustin appeared. He stared at the crushed house behind the twins before looking back up at he Zord as it left the neighborhood.

"Where did you go?" Tori asked him.

"I, uh, had to check at home," he replied.

"But your family is at your sister's performance in the park," Tori reminded him. "That's on the other side of town."

"I…" He paused, looking at Tobi with some look Tobi didn't recognize before looking away. "I had to check on my robot."

The four were silent for a moment as none of them knew what to say. The silence was finally broken by a voice none of them recognized. "The three of you showed a great deal of courage."

The teens turned to see a man wearing a strange looking gray robe and matching hat standing in the middle of the street.

"Who are you?" Shane asked directly.

"My name is Kanoi Watanabe, but you can call me Sensei," he said with a grin. "As in, I _sense a _lot of potential. Have any of you heard of the Wind Ninja Academy?"

"No," they answered.

He promptly frowned. "Kids these days," he mumbled to himself. "Well, that's not important. What matters is that I'm here to train you in the ways of the ninja."

"I don't think any of us are in the mood for jokes, mister," Tori told him.

"It's Sensei," he corrected, "and, if I were joking, I'd say I came here to train you in the ways of the clown and throw pies in your faces to break you in." He chuckled to himself. "Now, it's time to show you the Wind Ninja Academy. The three of you and my son will actually be its only students right now due to… circumstances." He made a face and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Three?" Dustin asked. "There are four of us."

The man looked over at Tobi. "Congratulations, you can count," he agreed, turning back to the others, "but there's only room for you three. He can… watch if he wants, but you three will be trained as ninjas."

"I guess you don't want… a wimp," Dustin agreed, glancing at Tobi before looking back at the man. "But, are you serious?"

"I'm completely serious!" the man declared.

"I can't believe all this is happening," Shane commented outloud. "It's like it's all a dream."

Tobi thought the same thing, that this must be a dream. No, this must be a nightmare. He looked back at the enormous footprint and he heard his sister's words echo in his head: "I couldn't save you both." He turned to the man. "Why can't I be trained as a ninja too?" he asked, knowing the skills and strengths of a ninja could have made him not so _helpless_.

"I already told you," the man—their new sensei—said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I couldn't save you both," his sister's voice again echoed in Tobi's head. Had he not been there, then his mother might still be alive. And, as his sister and her two best friends asked Sensei excited questions about ninjas, Tobi realized he might as well have not been there at all. His father despised him, his friends ignored him and Dustin turned out straight after all. What was the point?

He grit his teeth, telling himself that he'd find a way to fit in. He'd find somewhere he belonged. But, wherever that was, it would be without Dustin… and without love…

"It's like it's all a dream," Shane's voice echoed again in Tobi's head. "…a dream…"

"…a dream…"

But, no, it was only a memory…

* * *

.

~ Present Day ~

* * *

Tobi awoke to a feeling of loss and emptiness. He instinctively reached up and wiped away the tears from his eyes. He had to be strong. They had enough reasons to pick on him. But, wait… Suddenly everything started to come back to him. He wasn't with his sister's friends. He was with _his_ friends. He had survived death to be with them and they actually appreciated and _cared_ about him. He looked around at the floor of Ninja Ops before noticing a strange sensation. There was a warm weight against his body.

He turned over to see Dustin asleep next to him, the earth ninja's arm wrapped protectively over him. Dustin was adorable when he slept and, between the sight of Dustin's face, the warmth of his body against him, the sound of their hearts thumping away together and just the feeling of knowing he was there, Tobi couldn't help but not want the moment to end. He felt a contentment, like he'd finally found a place where he belonged. But, after all he'd been through, it was almost like a dream—a good dream—that he was afraid of waking from. And, knowing Dustin, it could all be just as fleeting.

So, he simply curled his body into Dustin's and let himself fall back to sleep in Dustin's arms, letting reality give way to dreams of Dustin. This time, it was a Dustin who would never leave him…

_**

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To be continued...**_

_**

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Author's Note:**__ So, what did you think? I know, it's a bit different, but I promise things will continue as normal in the next chapter. This just seemed like a good spot for this considering the resolution in the previous chapter and what happens in the next. Remember to vote in the poll and visit my DeviantART account!_


	32. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**IMPORTANT: Who should Hunter end up with? PLEASE take just a moment to vote in this poll at the top of my profile page (click on Rogue Ranger to the top left of this). Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing.**

Here are some possibilities: **Hunter and Twilight Zone Dustin** (they were both evil and they're both jealous of Tobi/Dustin), **Hunter and Tori** (Blake could get evil Tori and Cam and Twilight Zone Dustin could get together), **Hunter and Cam **(they could bond over unrequited love for Tori), **Hunter and Blake **(they're adopted, so…), etc, etc. So, **please vote! **You can also see some of the choices visually if you click the link right below the poll link!

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_**rogue-ranger .deviantart .com **__(take out spaces) Go there and see all kinds of crazy stuff! (Dustin shirtless, chapter posters, ninja slash, etc, etc.)_

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**Author's Notes: **This is the last chapter that takes place before the rangers leave the "Twilight Zone." I've decided to continue alternating between characters like I did when Tobi was dead. In other words, Tobi doesn't have to be everywhere for us to see what the others are up to. And, based on the previous poll results, Tobi and Dustin are going to be together! Yay! Remember to vote for who Hunter should end up with! I've given incentive by putting more Hunter in here than I usually do.

I would like to thank **Rebel Paisley** (author of Any Moment) for inspiring the ice cream flavor debate in here. Of course, she would never read my story because she's a girl of class and sophistication (despite the outrageous humor that appears in her story) and I'm a guy of… well, let's just say that if you are squeamish about hot and heavy makeout scenes, consider yourself warned because there's definitely one in this chapter!

Speaking of Rebel Paisley's **Any Moment**, you have to read her story! It's crazy good! If you are a Ninja Storm fan, it's a must. Plus, be nice and review her story!

Oh! And if you want to see Dustin in his **Awesome Dude** costume, check out a drawing Rebel Paisley did by going to her DeviantART account: **rebel-paisley .deviantart .com** (again, take out spaces).

FYI: In case you're wondering how I determined that the rangers in the previous chapter were 13 during PRiS is because, in the episode Shane's Karma Part 2, there are 18 candles on Tori's cake and so, five years earlier, they're 13! Yay! I can count! No, seriously, until I saw that, I thought that the rangers' ages were never revealed in the series. Of course, the actress Sally Martin also turned 18 around the time of the episode filming (possibly during), so maybe it wasn't supposed to be show related…

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**Review Comments: **Not many reviews this time. I guess that says something about the last chapter…

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for your honesty! But it was either the last chapter or nothing until now, so there… :p Not every chapter can be "great" but I still try. Well, let's see what you think of this one…

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for being the one person who actually loved the last chapter! It did take some effort to write, but not everyone can be as appreciative as you. You have earned yourself a little extra Hunter/Tori time in this chapter (since I'm psychic and know that's who you voted for in this poll!) At least the poll worked this time!

Thanks **FinalJudgement **for your continued encouragement! It helps when a chapter meets with less than stellar approval. Tobi's background may have been sad, but I personally think it will help serve as a lead-in to the present day events. Of course, what do I know? I just write the story. Hmmm. What would happen if Tori ran into a guy named Tori?

Thanks **Magichalo **for your support for the previous chapter! I was almost completed with writing this one up when I saw your review appear. I agree that it's nice to change the pace every now and then. Not every chapter can be action packed. And, since this is another dimension, I figured I could take liberties with making Kira and Tori know each other before the NS/DT crossover. The great thing about having the memory take place during the finale of PRiS is that's when Pinky and the Brain originally aired and we've already established that Dustin likes the series, so... I know it's still on the air, but just IMDB it!

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tobi dreams about the day that he lost his mother to a Zord attack over five years ago. In his memory, he and his sister are celebrating their thirteenth birthday at the beach while Tobi tries to find out if Dustin likes girls or guys. Then a Zord attacks the city and they race to save their mother. Unfortunately, while Tobi is trying to save his mother, the house collapses, trapping them both. Tori rescues her brother but only has time to save him before the Zord crushes the house. Meanwhile, Shane's brother Porter dies saving him and Dustin runs off to "check on his robot." Then, with everyone in a somber mood, Sensei shows up and says three of them are to be trained as ninjas. Three, meaning not Tobi, not the one who couldn't help his mother or himself, the one who his friends ignore, his father despises and the one who most wants to belong. He wakes up feeling alone until he realizes that Dustin is sleeping next to him. Finally content, he falls back to sleep in Dustin's arms...**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 32 (Home Is Where the Heart Is)**

* * *

Hunter stood over Dustin and Tobi, their limbs intertwined while they slept. The way Dustin held Tobi made it look like Dustin's unconscious mind was afraid of losing him. During the time that Dustin had chosen Hunter, the two had never ended up in such a position and here Dustin and Tobi were tangled together after just a few hours.

Hunter ran a hand over his face. The truth was, he was tired, but he really didn't feel like sleeping. He just had too much on his mind.

"Good morning," a voice whispered in his ear. "Or probably afternoon by now." He literally jumped. When had Tori entered the room, let alone come close enough to put a hand on his shoulder? "Jumpy much? She asked while following his gaze down to the sleeping pair. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of her brother and best friend snuggled up together.

"I'm gonna get some air," Hunter said flatly before leaving Ninja Ops.

"Hunter?" she asked, but he didn't look back. She looked from her brother and Dustin still sleeping to the exit and decided to follow the crimson ranger.

Hunter wasn't easy to find when he didn't want to be found, but it's hard to truly hide from a fellow ninja, especially when she had already learned from Blake about his older brother's secret alone or "brooding spot" as Blake called it back in their dimension.

"Penny for your thoughts," Tori's voice once again startled Hunter.

He looked over quickly, ready to snap, but the water ninja's eyes only held concern. He sighed, looking away. "I guess there's no place to be alone when you're surrounded by ninjas," he commented.

"Not really," she agreed, offering him a smile. "Mind if I share your big rock?"

He shrugged, gesturing with his hand for her to join him on the rock he was currently perched on.

"It's about Dustin and Tobi, isn't it?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Lucky guess," he said sarcastically.

"So, okay, we both know what's going on here," she told him, pulling herself up so she could lean on his shoulders. "You love Dustin, but you also feel like you owe Tobi something for saving your life. I'm the one who suggested the idea in the first place after all."

"I know," he mumbled.

"And they're cute when they're asleep," she continued. "Of course, everyone's cute when they're asleep, even Blake."

He gave her a surprised look.

"Maybe it's the whole not talking thing," she offered, shrugging.

"Must be," Hunter agreed with raised eyebrows.

"Hunter, what will make you be okay with this?" she asked seriously.

He furrowed his brow, thinking. "I really don't have a clue," he admitted. "I'm totally clueless when it comes to love."

"Trust me, you're not the only one," she assured him while patting his shoulders.

"I just…" He groaned. "I don't know. I want them both to be happy, just…"

"So do I," she agreed before frowning.

He looked at her expression and added, "Don't worry, Tor, I'll be fine."

She forced a smile. "It's not just you I'm worried about," she admitted. "It's also my brother."

"Why?" Hunter asked, confused.

"I'm afraid Dustin's going to change his mind again," she explained.

"Look, he did it because Tobi died," he reminded her. "That's not gonna happen a lot."

"You never know," she said. "It's a dangerous profession being a Power Ranger. I was certainly… upset when you died." She took a sharp breath, looking away momentarily.

"Thanks," was all Hunter could think of to say.

"But Dustin's the type of person who needs something right in front of him," she continued. "What happens when what's right in front of him is you or… Marah?"

"Are you saying Dustin has a short attention span even when it comes to love?" Hunter asked.

She shrugged. "He's always had trouble prioritizing. For example, when we were kids, he'd always try to do homework while watching tv. As you might imagine, that didn't work out too well. He once turned in a report on Egypt where he wrote that Pinky and the Brain had overseen the building of the pyramids. Whereas I…"

"Let me guess," Hunter cut in, a slight grin finally curling up on his lips. "You'd always do your homework first and then watch tv."

"Exactly," she agreed. "And, when he wanted to try two different flavors of ice cream, he'd put them side by side and eat one then the other before mixing them together and trying them that way."

"Wait, so you're saying Dustin's gonna want a four way with Tobi, me and Marah?" Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows.

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "Let's not think about that."

Hunter nodded.

"I'm just trying to say that I'm not sure Dustin really knows what he wants," she continued.

"I don't know about that, Tor," Hunter disagreed. "Remember when he was so convinced that Marah had turned good? He even charged up Beevil with power from Ninja Ops. The only thing that changed his mind about her was when she straight up betrayed him."

"And seriously hurt him in the process," Tori agreed. "I hadn't seen him that depressed… until Tobi died." She looked at Hunter, thinking. "Maybe you're right. Dustin does have a tendency of becoming obsessed with one thing, like motocross."

"You did not just bag on moto," Hunter began to scold.

"Before that, it was Power Rangers," she added. "I'm just saying maybe Dustin has really chosen and will stick to his choice the way he did with motocross even back when he wasn't very good at it yet." She rubbed her hands into Hunter's shoulders as she spoke.

"Why aren't you worried about Dustin being hurt by Tobi?" Hunter asked.

She smiled. "I'm not worried about either Tori or you hurting Dustin," she admitted. "It's just not something either of you could do. Now, as for Marah… I don't know."

"I'm not saying on purpose," he clarified. "But what if the other Dustin turns good like some of those old Power Rangers or the other Sensei?"

"Trust me, my brother is over the Dustin he grew up with," she assured him. "He's said repeatedly that this Dustin is the one he loves."

"You can't always choose… or predict who you're gonna fall in love with," he pointed out.

She looked at him, surprised for a moment as his eyes studied hers. "You're right," she agreed, smiling. "Too bad none of your wisdom rubbed off on your brother."

"I try," he assured her. "Believe me, I try, but you know Blake."

"Yeah, I know Blake," she said with a sigh.

"Hey, are you two still on the outs?" he asked.

"I guess so," she admitted. "I keep wanting to give him a second chance, but… I don't know. It's like something inside me has changed."

"Changed?" he repeated.

"Don't get me wrong," she clarified. "I still lo—care a lot about Blake," she amended, "but sometimes I find myself feeling something for… someone else." She glanced at him quickly before looking away.

"Must be a lucky guy," he mumbled.

"He doesn't seem to think so," she replied.

He looked at her in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. "Look, Tor," he began. "There's something I want to tell you."

She smiled and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

"I think I've…" He suddenly looked away, fidgeting. "What I mean is, what do you think about the idea of someone falling in love with more than one person at the same time?"

"Oh," she said, a disappointed look in her eyes. "I definitely think it's possible that Dustin really does love you all."

"I'm not talking about Dustin," he corrected. "I just mean in general."

"Oh," she said again, pausing. "I'd say, from experience, it's definitely possible. You can love… two different people equally but in two different ways."

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.

"Are we saying what I think we're saying here?" she asked, leaning into his left shoulder.

His breathing increased before he suddenly jumped off the rock and began to leave.

"Hey, what did I say?" she asked, quickly following him.

"Nothing," he assured her.

"Hunter, I—" she began, pulling him to face her. When she saw his face, it held a pained look. She reached out, wrapping her hand around his.

He looked down at her hand and then back up at her face, their eyes meeting and… before he knew it, he had started to lean down toward her as she tilted her head upward.

"Woah," she suddenly interrupted, stepping back. "What are we doing?"

"I thought…" he mumbled. "Forget it," he said, turning away.

"No, Hunter, it's alright," she assured him. "We're just… emotionally vulnerable right now, what with Dustin and… with Blake."

"Blake, right," Hunter mumbled.

"Yeah, Blake," a voice agreed in a harsh tone. The two turned, started to see the navy ranger standing behind them, arms crossed.

"Blake," Tori greeted first, forcing a wide smile.

"Listen, bro, it's not what it looks like," Hunter defended.

"I'm not blind, _bro_," Blake said, emphasizing the last word in an accusing tone.

"Um, we were just… talking," Tori explained.

"It's _his_ fault, isn't it?" Blake asked.

"Whose?" Hunter and Tori asked together.

"Tobi, of course," Blake clarified. "He stole Dustin from you,' he said, gesturing to Hunter, "the same way his sister tried to come between us," he added, gesturing to Tori.

"It's not his fault," the two answered in unison. They both exchanged surprised looks with each other before turning back to Blake.

"Blake, I—" Tori began, but Blake just held up a hand.

"Save it," he said, turning to leave.

She looked back at Hunter for support, but all he did was look at her apologetically. So, she gave him one last glance before running after Blake.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Ninja Ops, Shane woke up in the training room with his arm around Skyla. He smiled as he ran his cheek over her long curly hair. He heard her giggle and she turned over, staring up at him with a smile. "I thought you were asleep," he told her.

"I was," she assured him, "but I sensed you were going to wake up and I guess that woke me up."

"You can predict the future?" he asked, surprised.

She grinned at him. "Your breathing probably changed," she replied. "I don't think I'm psychic. I'm human, remember?"

He ran a hand over the edge of her face. "Yeah, I remember. So, you're going to stay this way?"

"I won't change like a Karminion," she answered, "but I'll still get older. That is what humans do, right?"

He laughed quietly. "Yeah, it's what humans do."

Just then, her stomach began rumbling. She looked down, surprised. "What's wrong with me?" she asked, concerned.

"Don't tell me you've never been hungry before?" he said with raised eyebrows.

"I haven't been in this form that long, I guess," she conceded, embarrassed.

He laughed to himself while helping her up. "Maybe Cam'll have some food," he suggested as she stood.

"Does Cam cook?" she asked curiously.

He grinned. "Probably. It's just that Cam's always prepared," he commented. "It'd probably be annoying if we didn't depend on that part of him so much."

"Does he know how much you guys appreciate him?" she asked.

"He's Cam," Shane said with a shrug. "He knows everything."

The two then entered the main room of Ninja Ops, where they found Dustin and Tobi asleep together on the floor and Cam hard at work in front of the computer.

"Hey, Cam," Shane whispered by way of greeting.

Cam turned in his chair and stared at Shane and Skyla. They really looked like a happy couple. He then looked down at Tobi and Dustin, both still intertwined. "Good morning," he told them before turning back to his work.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Shane asked.

"Yes, I did sleep," Cam snapped before stopping himself. He turned back to face Shane and Skyla. "I did manage to get some sleep earlier, thank you," he said in a much friendlier tone.

"Great," Shane replied. "So, any food around here? Skyla's hungry and I guess she's like never been hungry before." He chuckled as he said this.

"This dimension's Dustin keeps a large stash of food in a room across from where you two slept," Cam explained.

"Maybe he's hungry all the time like our Dustin," Shane suggested.

"Maybe," Cam agreed. "Just avoid anything in a small package marked "Mini Meals."

"Guinea pig food, right?" Shane asked.

"Right," Cam nodded.

Shane and Skyla then left and Cam couldn't help but notice their hands interlace as they walked. He glanced back at the two sleeping ninjas on the floor before sighing and turning back to the computer.

His father chose that moment to enter the room and hop up next to the computer's keyboard.

"Hi dad," Cam greeted him somberly. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well, son," Sensei replied. "And you?"

"About how I expected to sleep," Cam answered. "Not nearly enough and… alone." He glanced at his father quickly. "Forget I said that last part."

"Cam, is there something you want to talk about?" Sensei asked seriously.

"No, dad, I'm fine," Cam assured him.

"Just so that you know, I am here if you need to walk," Sensei offered. "Is it about your mother?"

"No, actually it's not," Cam replied, "but thanks for bringing that up too."

Sensei looked down at Tobi and Dustin and then back at his son. "IS it about Dustin and Tobi… or perhaps Shane and Skyla? Possibly both?"

"Dad, we're not having this conversation," Cam warned.

"Son, some things do not need to be spoken to be understood," Sensei told him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cam asked.

"It mean, I understand how you feel," Sensei finished.

"I sincerely doubt that," Cam disagreed.

Sensei twitched his nose. "You may find this hard to believe, but your mother was not the first woman I loved."

"Dad, I don't need to hear this," Cam said, grimacing.

"Alright," Sensei agreed, hopping away before turning back to his son, "but your mother was the first woman who loved me back." He then left the room.

Cam sighed, turning back to the computer as he heard the two sound sleepers behind him start to stir.

"Ow!" Tobi yelled as an elbow hit him in the face.

"Huh? Wha…?" Dustin asked groggily as he stretched.

That was not the awakening Tobi had been hoping for. He held his face, rubbing away the sleepiness.

"TZT," Dustin greeted him, his eyes barely open as eh gazed at him.

"I think you hit me in the face," Tobi commented.

"Oh, dude, I'm sorry!" Dustin apologized, his eyes instantly opening fully. "Guess I'm not used to sleeping next to somebody."

"Why did you sleep next to me?" Tobi asked curiously.

Dustin thought for a moment. It was always hard to think right after waking up. "I thought it'd be nice," he finally said.

"It was," Tobi agreed, smiling up at Dustin's messy hair while wrapping an arm around the earth ninja. "You're so…"

"You're so…" Dustin began at the exact same time. "What were you gonna say?" he asked.

"I was going to say, you're so cute when you've just woken up," Tobi replied.

Dustin smiled. "Me too, like the exact same thing. I swear, the whole mind reading this is kinda freaky, TZT."

Tobi chuckled softly. "Freaky in a good way though, right?"

"Yeah, freaky in a good way," Dustin agreed, laughing as he ran a hand through Tobi's hair.

Tobi leaned his body even further into Dustin's until he felt his morning wood meet with the earth ninja's.

Dustin immediately blushed and shifted his position. "Dude… sorry," he mumbled.

"It's not like we can control those kind of bodily functions," Tobi told him.

"Uh, right," Dustin agreed. "So, I'm like totally starving."

"Me too," Tobi agreed, smiling. "But, first…" He leaned forward and kissed Dustin softly on the lips before pulling back and cringing.

"Ah, dude, morning breath!" Dustin complained.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Tobi agreed, making a face and then standing up. As Dustin stood, stretching next to him, he added, "You know, I still love you, morning breath and all."

Dustin laughed, rolling his eyes. "Morning breath and all. So romantic, dude."

Tobi hit him lightly on the arm. "Come on," he told him. "Let's get something to eat."

"Uh huh," Dustin agreed, grinning at Tobi before following the blonde's eyes down to the crotch of his costume. He felt his cheeks flush again.

"Maybe we should take care of our morning wood first," Tobi suggested.

Dustin just blinked at him before moving his arm in a sweeping motion that left him in his training outfit instead.

"Well, at least we match," Tobi commented.

"Don't worry," Dustin assured him. "Awesome Dude will be back in action again soon, but now it's time for Eating Machine!" He flexed his muscles in a silly manner.

"Save some for me, Eating Machine," Tobi joked, laughing.

"You two will find Shane and Skyla down the hall eating as well," Cam said, spinning in his seat.

"Dude, I have an idea," Dustin suggested. "We should totally go out to eat."

"Oh, like a date," Tobi realized.

Dustin nodded before cringing. "But not that place we went before with the big pig's head on the sign. That food was nasty!"

"Don't worry," Tobi assured him. "I know of just the place, especially if you like pizza and ice cream."

"Those are like my two favorite breakfast foods!" Dustin declared.

"Good, because they have pizza ice cream," Tobi told him.

"Dude, are you serious?" Dustin asked, grabbing Tobi's arms and staring intensely.

"Totally," Tobi agreed.

Dustin promptly started doing a little dance. "This'll be so awesome!"

"Tobi, a word of advice," Cam said, gesturing for him to come closer. Tobi nodded and approached, leaning in as Cam whispered, "Don't tell Dustin where the milk comes from."

"Why not?" Tobi asked. "You think it would weird him out like you?"

"Yes, that and also I don't want it getting back to Tori," Cam explained.

Tobi shrugged. "Sure."

"Hay, Cam, you should totally join us," Dustin suddenly chimed in.

Cam gave him a confused look. "Then it wouldn't be a date, Dustin. No, you two go enjoy yourselves."

Dustin proceeded to make his puppy dog face at Cam.

"I'm with Dustin on this," Tobi agreed. "I haven't seen much of you for a while, what with being dead and all."

Cam just blinked at him for a moment. "I've missed you too," he finally said.

Tobi decided to lean over and give Cam a hug. Suddenly he felt another pair of arms wrap around him and Cam.

"Group hug!" Dustin declared.

When the two released Cam, his cheeks were flushed. "I… I should have predicted that," he managed to say. "Combining two very tactile people naturally leads to a group hug."

"Is that a rule or something?" Tobi asked.

"No, just an observation," Cam replied, composing himself.

"'Cause you have like a huge list of stuff you notice," Dustin said as if he already knew this.

"I hope I still do," Cam replied, thinking, "unless my files have been deleted.

Tobi put a hand on Cam's shoulder. "Don't worry, Cam. "If the other Dustin deleted anything, I'll have my sister beat him up or something."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Which Tori would that be?"

"I was hoping both," he admitted.

Dustin chucked to himself behind them. "That would be awesome to watch."

"Thank you," Cam told Tobi. He paused before adding, "I've been working on something for you." He turned around and revealed a gold morpher.

"So that's what happened to my communicator," Tobi commented. "Thanks, Cam. The new color's great!"

"Actually, I accidentally disintegrated your communicator," Cam corrected, and this is more than just a communicator."

"Are you saying it's a real morpher?" Tori asked, eyes wide.

"No way, dude!" Dustin yelled. "How awesome is that?" He gave Tobi a high five.

"Well, it's more of an energy regulator," Cam explained. "In theory, it would channel the energy from the Sun Amulet through it at a regulated rate rather than a sudden burst triggered by polymelecular and technophotonic bonding."

Dustin and Tobi both stared at him blankly.

"Of course, I want to test it out first before I would even think of trying it out on you," cam added. "It's too bad the Cyber Tobi program was destroyed in my last attempt."

"You made a Cyber me?" Tobi asked.

"Actually, the other Dustin did," Cam corrected.

"You should of seen him," Dustin said. "He was _so_ not like you. He was all, 'You're my master,' and he didn't even look like you naked."

"He was naked?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Dustin said, nodding.

"Dustin, I really don't think Tobi needs to hear this," Cam chimed in.

"Dude, why not?" Dustin asked, confused.

"So, wait," Tobi interrupted, thinking, "the other Dustin has a Cyber version of me that's naked and begging him for sex?"

"Yeah, begging," Dustin agreed.

"He said he knew how I felt about him and he didn't feel anything for me and now I find out he's been having sex with a Cyber version of me?" Tobi stated in an angry tone. "Why didn't he just ask me?"

"I don't know," Cam whispered. "Maybe he wasn't after a relationship and you were."

"Yeah, I am," Tobi agreed. "Well, he can have his Cyber Tobi," he huffed. "He probably treats him like crap too. I just can't believe I liked him for so long and even thought I loved him when he was always such a jerk."

Dustin reached out and wrapped Tobi in a hug. "Chill, dude," he told Tobi. "I'm here now and you get the best of both worlds: Good looks and charming personality."

Tobi looked up at him and smiled. "You're right. I guess I just got used to everyone treating me like I don't really matter."

"I'm sorry for taking you for granted," Cam said. "We all are."

Tobi turned around, surprised. "Is that what everybody thinks? Listen, you guys have all been super nice to me and I feel closer to all of you after however long it's been than I did after years of being around my sister's friends." He paused, remembering. "In fact, I had a nightmare this morning about the Zord attack and how… helpless and worthless I felt at the time. I guess knowing that I'll be seeing them all again soon made me think about… how things were…"

"I hope my father keeps that in mind," Cam replied with a sympathetic look.

"You think he wouldn't want me to stay with you guys?" Tobi asked, concerned.

Cam squinted. "Something tells me he'll give in." He looked over as Shane and Skyla entered the room, both laughing.

"Finally wake up, bro?" Shane asked Dustin with a grin.

"Yeah," Dustin nodded. "What's so funny?"

"Shane was just telling me a joke," Skyla explained. "I wasn't sure what a nun was or a bar or some other things, but once I understood those, it was really funny."

"You had to be there, man," Shane explained, gazing at Skyla affectionately.

"Right," Dustin said, punching Shane in the arm. "'Cause you jokes are seriously not that funny."

Shane glared at him. "You would know all about telling lame jokes."

"Yep," Dustin agreed, grinning.

Shane shook his head.

"Hey, we're all gonna go out to eat," Dustin added. "Wanna come?"

"Actually, I was going to pass," Cam spoke up. "Dustin and Tobi can use this as their first date."

"Date?" Shane repeated.

Dustin blushed and fidgeted.

"What, two guys can't go out on a date?" Tobi asked.

"I think it's sweet," Skyla suggested.

Shane shrugged. "I guess, but what about Hunter?"

Dustin continued to fidget. "We went out before like on a date," he explained, suddenly looking lost in thought. "I gave him a lot."

"What?" Shane asked. "You didn't give him your…"

"My what?" Dustin asked, confused.

"Your… virginity," Shane whispered.

Dustin's eyes widened. "No! Dude!" He started blinking rapidly as he waved his hands. "I just mean I gave him a lot of me time and not TZT. I never had me choosing something mean someone… died, not even as a Power Ranger." He suddenly turned to Tobi, grabbing him. "Dude, let's go out right now!"

"Really hungry, huh?" Tobi asked. "Me too."

"Yeah, hungry and I wanna give you me time and… tell you something," Dustin explained.

"Okay," Tobi agreed, glancing at the others. "We'll meet you guys back here later. Cam, we'll be at that place we ate at yesterday."

Cam nodded, pulling out some alien money. "Here, you can take the rest."

"Thanks, Cam!" Tobi replied, taking the money.

"Have fun," Shane offered as they left.

"What do you think Dustin wants to tell Tobi?" Skyla asked.

"I think I have an idea," cam answered.

Shane waited. "Are you gonna tell us?"

"Let's just say the two seem destined to be together and I think Dustin realized he's in love," Cam said.

* * *

Blake knew Tori was following him, so he streaked into the city in order to lose her among the crowds of humans, aliens and kelzaks. When he stopped, though, he noticed that he had ended up outside an ice cream shop where a group, including Ryan, was gathered inside. He started to turn around when a voice interrupted him.

"You're friends with the guy who defeated Zordon, aren't you?" Dana asked as she approached the ice cream shop with Alyssa.

"Uh, I guess so," Blake replied.

"You must be insanely proud to be his friend," Alyssa chimed in, giving him a friendly yet forceful punch in the shoulder blade.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Blake mumbled.

"Hey, Doctor little sis," Ryan greeted. "Glad you could make it. Come inside. Oh, and Blake, come join us too."

"No, it's okay," Blake declined.

"Goldwinger says you're going to be leaving soon," Ryan told him. "You could at elast say goodbye."

Blake shrugged. "Alright," he agreed, following them inside.

Goldwinger, Eric and Wes were already seated around two tables that had been pushed next to each other.

"And when I went to where my factory has always been, there was nothing but a charred pile of rubble," Goldwinger complained. "All I have left is my portable viewscreen and my MOTHs. I'm ruined!"

"Calm down, Goldie," Ryan said while offering Blake a seat. "You were always saying comics weren't that profitable. Maybe this is your chance for a fresh new start."

"Aw, Ry, but what?" Goldwinger asked.

Ryan shrugged. "It's up to you."

"Do you ever read my comics?" Goldwinger asked Blake.

"You make comics?" Blake asked.

Goldwinger proceeded to cry into his wings.

"Perhaps he should consider television," Dana suggested.

"Right," Ryan agreed while trying to console Goldwinger with a pat. "Like the mayor's show, I Love Lothor."

Eric cringed. "Wes and I saw that at the hotel while we were—"

"Strategizing," Wes immediately cut in. "We were planning our attack at the time."

Eric rolled his eyes. "He was attacking my mouth alright." When Wes glared at him, he smiled and continued. "It was really bad. The show, not the kissing," he clarified.

"But I hear it won Mayor Lothor reelection," Ryan interjected.

"What do you think, Blake?" Goldwinger asked directly.

"Me?" Blake replied blankly. "Uh, a tv show sounds good."

"Looks like a winner to me," Ryan suggested.

"We'll call it… Power Rangers: The TV Show," Goldwinger commented. "I'll work on the title later, but it will star the red ranger, who is a tortured artist by day and a Power Ranger by night."

Blake groaned to himself. "The whole red ranger thing is kind of overdone. How about the blue ranger and he's into motocross?" Blake suggested.

"Ah, extreme sports!" Goldwinger declared happily. "Perfect! If you were your studly brother, I'd kiss you!"

Blake frowned. "What, does everyone love Hunter all of the sudden?"

"Which one was he?" Dana asked.

"Tall, blonde and built like a Greek god," Goldwinger explained.

"I know the one," Alyssa said, grinning.

"Girl, you mean all this time you weren't really a lesbian?" Goldwinger asked, surprised.

Alyssa punched him out of his chair and shrugged. "I swing both ways."

"And always with her fist," Ryan added, laughing as he helped Goldwinger up.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. Apparently, Tori had found Blake and was trying to just spy quietly when Kapri walked up and (quite loudly) asked what she was up to. And, being Kapri, she didn't seem to get the whole quiet spying idea and instead insisted on playing a guessing game as if Tori were doing charades (which she wasn't).

"Tor," Blake greeted her coldly.

"Blake," she greeted back.

"You seem to like following me," he commented.

"I'm just worried about you," she insisted.

"Hey, you guys want some ice cream?" Eric offered.

"I'll have blueberry," Blake immediately spoke up, never taking his eyes off Tori. "And so will Tori. She likes blueberry too."

"You know, maybe I'll go for strawberry," she suggested.

Blake crossed his arms. "Strawberry is boring. You know you want blueberry. Blueberry had its hold on your taste buds first."

"Well, maybe my taste buds have changed," she replied.

"What? So there's no place in your life for blueberry anymore?" Blake asked.

She thought for a moment before looking Blake in the eyes. "Blueberry has always been my favorite and it will always hold a special place in my mouth. But strawberry just…"

"Come on, Tor!" Blake demanded. "You can't give up on your favorite flavor just like that!"

"Who says I'm giving up?" she asked. "Maybe I just like both right now."

"They may both be berries, but there is no way I'm sharing my blueberry with strawberry," Blake insisted.

"Fine!" she snapped. "Then I'll just have strawberry from now on." She crossed her arms and turned away.

"Aw, Tor, I'm sorry," Blake apologized, touching her shoulder lightly. "If you really… love strawberry, I won't stand in your way. I just want to make sure you're happy with the flavor you chose."

She sighed, turning back to face him. "I don't know that I _love_ strawberry. I just need some time to decide."

"It's a good thing you didn't tell them they have banana or we'd be here all day," Wes whispered to Eric.

Blake gestured with his hand. "That's right," he told Tori. "What about strawberry banana? It's a classic combination. How do you think banana feels loosing strawberry to blueberry?"

"I think banana really likes being with pineapple," she immediately retorted. "Sometimes those quirky exotic fruits need to be together."

"Pineapple," Blake mumbled, frowning.

"Should I tell them there are more than just fruit flavors?" Eric asked Wes.

"Please don't," Wes told him seriously.

"I'll have mixed fruit ice cream," Kapri suddenly said. "I like all fruits _equally_," she said smugly, giving Tori and Blake an accusing look.

The two just stared at her blankly.

"Let's go talk to that strawberry brother of yours," Tori told Blake.

He nodded. "Anything for you, blueberry," he replied.

She grinned and shook her head. "I can't believe we just had that conversation."

"What?" Blake asked. "Us blueberries need to stick together."

"How about in a fruit salad," Tori suggested.

"Don't even go there," Blake warned.

"Let's just go before this conversation gets any weirder," Tori told him, leading him off.

"I hear that," Blake agreed, following her.

"They say when you're in love, you fight about anything," Eric commented once they had left.

"Are you saying we're going to fight about fruit at some point?" Wes asked, concerned.

"God I hope not," Eric replied.

"Reminds me of our first fight," Goldwinger noted.

"As I recall, it was over gold versus titanium," Ryan replied.

"This is why I never plan on falling in love," Dana explained.

"No one ever does, Dana," Alyssa told her. "No one ever does."

"Got that right!" Goldwinger agreed, reaching out for a high five. Unfortunately, when Alyssa smacked Goldwinger's hand, he once again tumbled onto the floor.

"Love hurts," Ryan commented with a shrug.

* * *

By the time Dustin and Tobi arrived at the ice cream shop, Goldwinger and the others were done eating and were preparing to leave. "You sure you can't stay longer?" Goldwinger asked Eric and Wes.

"We have to get back to work," Wes replied.

"Wes' right," Eric agreed. "We've got a state to protect."

"I guess I should check on how Perry is coming with that gift for Cam," Goldwinger commented.

"We're going to be leaving this dimension soon," Tobi told Eric and Wes as their paths crossed. "So, goodbye I guess."

"Yeah, thanks for all you did," Eric said. "Especially you, Tobi. Not only did you save us, but you defeated Zordon. You're some kind of a hero."

Tobi raised his eyebrows. "Me? A hero?"

"Of course, TZT!" Dustin assured him. "You're like a super hero! Like Totally Tobalistic Tobinator!"

Tobi started to point out that Tobinator was what he called his special friend in his shorts, but decided against it.

"Say goodbye to the others for us too," Eric told them.

"We will," both Tobi and Dustin agreed.

"Thanks," Wes told Tobi, holding out a hand. "I really appreciate it."

Eric smiled. "That's high praise from my boyfriend," he joked.

Tobi decided to ignore the hand and instead give the two a hug, which Dustin quickly joined. When they pulled away, Wes had a flushed face but Eric was just laughing.

The two Golden Guardians then waved as they left.

"Where's your boyfriend Hunter?" Ryan asked as he and Goldwinger prepared to go.

Dustin ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I don't know. We kinda aren't going out anymore."

"You're saying Hunter is single?" Goldwinger asked.

"I guess so," Dustin agreed.

"Hunter is…" Ryan began, looking at Goldwinger before they both ran out the door.

"I saw him first!" Goldwinger called as the two ran off.

"Poor Hunter," Dustin commented.

"Yeah, poor Hunter," Tobi agreed, looking at Dustin.

"Will we see you later at the park?" Kapri asked as she walked by with Nadira.

"Is something happening at the—" Tobi began.

"Yeah, we'll totally be there!" Dustin interrupted.

"I'll tell Marah," Kapri said with a giggle.

"Come on, great grandmother," Nadira said with a shake of her head as she and Kapri left. "Nice to meet you!" she called over her shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," Tobi agreed, wondering who that pink haired woman was with the pink haired Kapri.

At that moment, Dana passed by with Alyssa.

"We wish you two the best of luck in dealing with the malicious Power Rangers that came from this dimension," Dana told Tobi and Dustin. When the two gave her a surprised look, she added, "My brother told me about that. We're a little concerned about what sending them back here would mean."

"I'm not," Alyssa chimed in, pounding her fists together.

"Alyssa, there is a time for violence and a time for restraint," Dana told her.

"I can be gentle when I want to be," Alyssa said with a smirk as she ran a finger through Dana's blonde hair.

Dana blinked at her. "Are you…?" she began. "Uh, anyway, we should get back to work. Saving lives." She continued to blink at Alyssa.

"Of course, Dana," Alyssa told her as the two left. "Bye, boys!"

"Bye," Tobi and Dustin said, exchanging confused looks as they approached the front counter to order.

"That was pretty awesome last night," Dustin commented. "It was like a comic book convention with all those Power Rangers and stuff."

"Except for the fighting," Tobi pointed out.

"I don't know," Dustin disagreed. "Some of those comic book geeks can get kinda wild."

"I know the type," Tobi said with a grin. "So, is pizza ice cream with the works okay?"

"With the works!" Dustin agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Okay," Tobi said, turning to the human at the counter. "Two large pizza ice creams with the works."

After paying, the two then found a booth in a private area of the now mostly empty place and Tobi started to sit down.

Dustin looked at their training suits. "Maybe we should change," he suggested.

"For our date, right," Tobi realized. "Well, here goes." He swung his arm and looked down. He was now wearing a button down yellow shirt and shorts.

Dustin grinned, looking him up and down.

"What? Were you hoping I'd end up naked?" Tobi asked.

Dustin blushed. "Maybe," he mumbled while swinging his arm to reveal a yellow t-shirt and shorts. "I like the gold dragon," he commented, pointing to Tobi's shirt.

"Thanks," Tobi replied, taking a seat and grinning as he looked up at Dustin's messy hair.

Dustin felt his head. "Aw man," he complained. "Hey, how come you don't get bed head? It's like no fair!"

"It's because I have dead straight hair," Tobi explained, "whereas you have nice thick, wavy hair." Dustin cringed. "What? I like your hair a lot." He reached over the table to play with a stray curl.

"It's not that," Dustin replied, biting his lip.

"Oh," Tobi realized, lowering his hand. "_Dead_ straight. Maybe I should have chosen another word. Maybe I shouldn't use straight either, considering I'm anything but."

Dustin stared into Tobi's eyes, blinking.

"Look, I'm alive now," Tobi told him as he noticed his own reflection in Dustin's eyes. "Dustin, what were you going to say last night when you were on top of me?"

Dustin's cheeks flushed. "I was on top of you?"

"At the abyss, remember?" Tobi clarified.

"Oh, yeah," Dustin replied, running a hand through his already messy hair. "I felt… something, but I wanted to like figure it out first."

"And have you figured it out yet?" Tobi asked, staring at him.

"Not really," Dustin admitted, embarrassed. "I'm trying!"

Tobi leaned his elbows on the table. "Maybe I can help you figure it out," he offered.

Dustin smiled at him, an almost dreamy look in his brown eyes. "Thanks, TZT. You've always got my back."

"No problem," Tobi assured him. "So, what did you feel?"

Dustin thought for a moment. "It's like…" He waved his hand, trying to find the words. "…this feeling. Dude, of course it's a feeling, but… it's like I needed to be with you even though you were like right there. Aw, man, it's so confusing."

"You were afraid of losing me again?" Tobi suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Dustin agreed, "but I wanted it to mean something _more_."

"You wanted it to mean you love me," Tobi concluded. "You know, Tori thinks you really love everybody and that's why you think you love nobody."

"But it's not the same with you, TZT," Dustin told him.

"How's it different?" Tobi asked.

"I care about everybody kinda the same," Dustin explained. "I like people a lot and love being around them, but I can handle not being around people all the time. Like if I'm fixing up a bike or something, but with you…" he cocked his head to the side, thinking. "I feel alone when I'm not with you, even when I'm like totally not alone. See, it doesn't make any sense." He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "It's like you're the only person I don't love because I hurt so much when you were lying there. I hated it."

"You think you don't love me because you missed me so much it hurt?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "Love's supposed to make you feel happy. That's why I wanted to talk to you. Last night and today I felt so happy that I thought… maybe I'm in love with you. And, of course, thinking that like made me _supper_ happy!"

"Oh, Dustin," Tobi said, reaching out and taking Dustin's hand in his. "Love doesn't always make you happy."

Dustin frowned in confusion. "It doesn't?" He thought for a moment. "Guess I don't really know much about love."

"Sure you do," Tobi argued. "Think about your family or your friends. Do they always make you happy or do you feel really bad when something happens to them?"

"Duh, but that's different," Dustin replied.

"It's not really," Tobi disagreed. "Love is love. Romantic love isn't anything magical."

"It's not?" Dustin asked in disbelief. "But I heard that… aw man."

"Don't believe the hype," Tobi told him. "I used to think the same thing, but it's just love mixed with wanting to bone them too."

Dustin nodded, blushing slightly. "I get it now. Thanks, TZT!"

"Anytime," Tobi replied.

"So, then… I love you?" he asked hopefully.

Tobi smiled. "I think so."

Dustin proceeded to do a little dance in his seat.

"Here we go," a voice interrupted, causing the two to release their hands as two large pizza ice cream platters were set in front of each of them. "Enjoy," the waitress said, eyeing the two with a smile as she left.

Dustin's eyes were wide as he stared at what was in front of him. He picked up his spoon and carefully scooped out a layer of cheesy goodness before tasting it. Immediately, a smile stretched across his face and he started shoveling the ice cream into his mouth.

"I see you've found one thing you know for sure you love," Tobi commented while scooping out some ice cream from his own platter.

"Aw, man, this stuff is awesome!" Dustin mumbled with his mouth full.

"Careful or you'll get brain freeze," Tobi warned.

"Mmmhmm," Dustin mumbled. "Man, I can't believe they don't have this back in our dimension."

"Wait, they don't have pizza ice cream?" Tobi asked, concerned.

Dustin nodded, cheeks stuffed as he closed his eyes and held his forehead. "Gah, brain freeze!"

"Mix the cheese layer into the sauce layer and it helps," Tobi suggested. "But no pizza ice cream? Maybe I should order another."

"Ah," Dustin sighed, the pressure in his head finally gone. Of course, then he promptly shoved more cold ice cream into his mouth. "Dude, you should so order another. Gah! Brain freeze!"

Tobi had been too occupied with watching Dustin and thinking about a dimension without pizza ice cream that he ended up eating his own ice cream too fast. "Brain freeze," he complained, squinting.

"Here," Dustin offered, running his warm palms back and forth across Tobi's head quickly. "Better?" he asked.

Tobi opened his eyes, staring at Dustin. "Better," he replied, grinning. "Here," he said, reaching out a finger and wiping some ice cream from Dustin's chin before bringing it to his mouth and licking his finger.

Dustin stared at him wide eyed. "Dude, that was kinda… hot," he mumbled.

Tobi blushed. "Thanks," he replied. "I think I missed a spot."

Dustin leaned his face over the table. "You got some on your cheek."

Tobi leaned forward so that their faces were inches apart. "You too," he told him. "Right… here…" He leaned forward and ran his tongue over Dustin's cheek, which caused the darker skinned ninja to giggle. He then ran his tongue along Dustin's jaw line, up his chin and finally around Dustin's lips. He felt Dustin's tongue emerge from his mouth and meet his own before licking around Tobi's lips. Dustin then began lapping at Tobi's face like a dog. By this point, they were both giggling.

Dustin's mouth eventually found its way back to Tobi's and their tongues exchanged some licks before, without a spoken cue, both their mouths opened and their lips met. Their tongues explored each other's warm inner wetness, tasting each other's residual ice cream.

"Mmmm," Dustin moaned, quickly followed by Tobi doing the same.

Tobi reached up and ran his hands through Dustin's hair, instinctively pulling their faces even closer together.

Dustin's hands repeated this motion, running down Tobi's long hair, then down his neck until they were rubbing over Tobi's shoulders.

Tobi lifted himself off the seat to get better leverage, but he neglected to take a part of his body sticking out into account and he rammed his erection into the table. "Gah!" he cried into Dustin's mouth, biting both their tongues.

"Ow!" Dustin yelled, pulling back.

"Sorry," Tobi mumbled, sitting down carefully and adjusting the sensitive contents of his shorts. "I kinda banged myself."

"You banged… _yourself_?" Dustin asked, eyes wide. "You can do that? How?"

Tobi stared at him for a moment. "I hurt my… equipment on the table."

"Oh!" Dustin said with a dramatic nod. "Gotcha. You okay?"

"I will be," he replied. "I just got a little excited there."

"Man, me too," Dustin agreed, blushing.

"And I'm used to masturbating after I wake up," Tobi added.

"Me too," Dustin agreed, nodding. "I mean…" His blush became more pronounced.

Tobi chuckled to himself.

"Hey, TZT," Dustin asked, suddenly, biting his bottom lip, "you ever think about… doing it with me? You know, _it_? Like, banging, but good banging?"

Tobi nodded. "A lot," he admitted. "You?"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "And Hunter and Marah and lots of people."

Tobi raised an eyebrow. "I guess me too, sometimes. I mean, minus Hunter and Marah."

"But Hunter's hot and Marah's cute," Dustin argued.

"I'll have to take your word for that," Tobi replied.

"Marah kinda reminds me of a girl I knew in middle school back when I first started having crushes."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled. "So, Hunter and Marah both have some hold on you because of your past." He tried not to sound as disappointed as he felt.

"Nah," Dustin disagree. "They're friends and I like them and all, but I think I love you." He suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, concerned. He reached out and took one of Dustin's hands in his.

"That was another reason I thought maybe I didn't love you," Dustin explained. "I could think about doing it with them but not you. It was like I was using you and it didn't feel right. I couldn't think about you like that, so I thought about them."

Tobi frowned. "You don't find me attractive?" he asked.

Dustin wrapped his other warm hand around Tobi's hand that held his. "TZT, you are so super handsome and cute and I want to bang you in a good way, but…"

"But?" Tobi prompted.

"But I don't wanna hurt you or change things with you," he finished. "I just want to be with you and, like, if that leads to doing it with you, I'd be super happy. But, when I think about doing it with you, it's different. It's like… more than doing it." He tilted his head and thought.

"It's like… making love," Tobi suggested.

Dustin looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, like making love," he agreed, his smile widening. "Dude, does that mean I really love you?"

"Yes, you love me already," Tobi assured him with a grin.

"Awesome!" Dustin declared, releasing his hand for a high five.

Tobi reached up and gave Dustin his desired high five, laughing. "I don't thik that's how people say they love each other."

"It totally should be," Dustin argued, standing up so he could reach across the table. "And hugs are good too."

Tobi looked awkwardly at the table between them.

"Dude, come over here," Dustin suggested, motioning for Tobi to sit next to him, which Tobi happily obliged. Tobi sat as close to Dustin as possible and Dustin put an arm around his shoulder. He then tried to feed Tobi ice cream.

Tobi giggled as the ice cream spilled on his face. He then decided to try feeding Dustin ice cream as payback, which had similar results. Then, with their faces a mess, they licked their lips and proceeded to lick each other's faces until they were once again kissing. This time, the two let their hands run down each other's arms as their breathing quickened.

Dustin pulled Tobi onto his lap and ran his hands down the back of Tobi's shirt while Tobi played with Dustin's hair with one hand and ran the other along Dustin's tanned bicep. Almost instinctively, the two began grinding their hips. As Dustin's hands found their way down to Tobi's butt, Tobi leaned farther into Dustin's mouth. Dustin's hands then began to move Tobi up and down in rhythm with his own movements as Tobi's hands ran over Dustin's shirt covered chest. They were attacking each other's mouths with a fury when suddenly they both gasped.

Tobi pulled back quickly, an extremely embarrassed look on his face as he looked down at the wet spot forming in his shorts. To his surprise, an identical wet spot wa forming in Dustin's shorts.

"Dude," Dustin panted, cheeks flushed and chocolate eyes wide, "did we just… do it?"

"Uh, I don't know," Tobi mumbled, catching his breath. "I don't think that counts. Real sex involves being naked and… penetration. That was like… humping with clothes on."

Dustin nodded before looking around. "Man, I haven't messed up my shorts like this since Was like fourteen."

"Look, Dustin, I'm really sorry," Tobi apologized.

Dustin offered him a reassuring smile. "Nah, TZT, I liked it." He gave him a quick kiss. "A lot."

Tobi leaned forward and rested his head on Dustin's shoulder. "I'm glad. I just want you to be happy and I never want to hurt you."

"Me too," Dustin agreed, wrapping his arms around Tobi tightly. "I never want to hurt you."

"I love you Dustin," Tobi whispered.

"I love you too TZT," Dustin replied. "Thanks for like helping me figure that out."

Tobi lifted his head. "Was it the sex?" he asked.

"Nah, dude," Dustin disagreed. "I figured it out before then. So, wait, it was sex?"

Tobi just grinned and kissed Dustin.

"Dude, maybe we should finish our ice cream before it's all melted and drippy and stuff," Dustin suggested.

"Speaking of melted ice cream, that's almost what it feels like is in my shorts," Tobi complained.

"Me too," Dustin agreed before making an arm movement that returned him to his training outfit.

Tobi frowned. "I don't think I can do that without ending up naked with what I'm sure looks like vanilla ice cream dripping off me," he admitted.

Dustin's eyes went wide. "TZT, have you ever… tasted your… stuff?"

"My… Oh, no, why?" Tobi asked. "You mean, you have?"

Dustin blushed, embarrassed. "I was just like curious, you know?"

"I guess that makes sense," Tobi agreed. "Now I'm curious what it tas—Wait, does that mean you were thinking about licking me clean… down there too?"

Dustin's blush became even more pronounced. "Maybe…" he said with a grin.

Tobi's cheeks flushed as well. "I… I think I'd like that a lot…" He looked around. Even though they were in a secluded area, it was still a public place. "But I don't think this is a good place. Maybe later…"

Dustin grinned, nodding. "Yeah, later," he agreed.

Tobi blinked for a moment. "Now let's finish this ice cream before it's just soggy breast milk."

"Breast milk?" Dustin repeated.

"Nevermind," Tobi told him as the two finished their pizza ice cream.

* * *

Later, Tobi and Dustin picked up two chocolate ice cream cones to go and licked them as they left the shop.

"It's nice to have so much money to spend freely," Tobi commented between licks.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "Hey, what'd you want to do next?"

"Well, they probably want us back soon so we can leave," Tobi replied. "I would have liked to teach you how to surf." He frowned. "I think I left my board at the beach. I wonder if I should just buy a new one."

"Uh, dude, I'm like _so_ not a surfer," Dustin told him. "I kept wiping out. At least with moto, you can't drown in dirt."

"I'm sure there's a way," Tobi disagreed.

"Yeah, probably right," Dustin said with a nod.

"But I've had a lot of time to think about this and I came up with surfing I think you'll really like," he continued.

Dustin raised his eyebrows, which were probably the only part of his face not covered in chocolate by now. Tobi had to resist the urge to lick it off.

"Dirt surfing," Tobi explained. "Since you can control earth, you should be able to ride it."

"Oh, man, why didn't I think of that?" Dustin asked in amazement. "That'd be totally awesome!" As he waved his hands in an excited manner, the remaining chocolate ice cream atop his cone flew up and splatted in his face.

Tobi couldn't help but giggle. "I don't think I can lick all that up. I'll go get some napkins."

"But, before Tobi couldn't run back inside, Dustin reached out to stop him. "Dude, what's that?"

Tobi followed Dustin's gaze to a thunder cloud that was suspiciously hovering over just one small area in the distance. "I think I might have a guess," Tobi replied.

Dustin looked at him, a questioning look in his eyes. "Hunter?"

Tobi just nodded before the two hastily finished the ice cream cones and Tobi gave Dustin's face a quick lick and they streaked off toward the lone dark cloud.

* * *

Hunter had managed to find a new spot to be alone when Tori and Blake appeared out of nowhere. He couldn't help but groan, even though a part of him was relieved to see the two.

"Listen, bro, I'm sorry I freaked on you like that," Blake immediately apologized. "It's just hard since I care about both of you."

"And I'm sorry too," Tori added.

"No, it's cool," Hunter spoke up. He had an almost defeated look in his eyes.

"Tor explained things," Blake continued. "She's not really likes strawberry more than blueberry and all that."

Hunter stared at his brother blankly.

Blake grinned awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Yeah, guess you had to be there."

Hunter nodded. "Guess so," he agreed. "Wait… don't tell me this has to do with Tori's… cherry." He shot Tori a panicked look.

Both Blake and Tori's faces flushed immediately. "No," Tori assured him. "My, uh, cherry is… uh, still… uh, yeah," she mumbled.

"Good, because I like your cherry the way it is," Hunter said with a glare at his brother.

"Uh, me too," Blake quickly agreed.

"Way to play it safe," Tori told him with a sideways glance.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Blake spoke. "So, bro… I know how Tori feels. What about you?"

Hunter was silent for a few moments longer. "I… care about her a lot," he finally answered, his eyes never leaving Tori's face. She offered him a smile before he continued. "Which is why I still think you two should be together. It's meant to be. Just get over yourselves already."

"Meant to be?" Blake repeated.

Hunter shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything better to say," he explained. "It's still true."

"And what about Dustin and Tobi?" Blake prompted.

"Maybe they're meant to be together too," Hunter replied.

"What about you?" Tori asked quietly.

"I don't know," Hunter admitted, pouting. "I've been thinking, maybe I'm just…" At that moment, a cloud began to form over his head. "…in the way," he finished.

Little sparks of lightning flickered as the cloud rose and expanded.

"Not again," Blake groaned. "Always the drama queen."

"This has happened before?" Tori asked in disbelief as she stared at the thundering cloud.

Crackle! A flicker of lightning struck a nearby patch of grass.

"It's the power of thunder thing," Blake explained. "He gets like this sometimes when he's in his 'I wish I was never born' mood. At least he's not all suicidal."

Tori shot Blake a horrified look. "When was that?"

"When tall, blonde and brooding started liking crimson," Blake explained.

"It's not a mood and I'm not suicidal," Hunter argued. "It's just that, if I weren't here, I couldn't come between you two."

"Hey, that was Tobi's sister," Blake reminded him.

Hunter just grunted. "If I weren't here, Dustin would have chose Tobi right away instead of putting him through… what I'm sure was a really _painful_ time." He furrowed his brown in concentration.

Tori approached Hunter, placing a hand on his arm hesitantly. "Dustin still cares about you," she assured him. "We all do."

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "You annoy me sometimes, but you're still my big bro. You've always been there for me and I love you."

Hunter blinked at his brother, his eyes turning reflective. "I love you too, bro," he agreed. "That's why I want you to be happy. I'm sorry for being selfish." He looked away, his eyes glazing over. "You know, Dustin really debated and had a hard time deciding before choosing me, but, with Tobi, it was like it took no effort at all. Like it was… natural."

"Like banana and pineapple," Tori commented to herself.

Hunter shot her a confused look. "I can't change the past, but I'm not gonna stand in anyone's way any longer."

"Hunter…" Tori whispered, rubbing his back with her hand. She could feel the tension in his muscles. "I didn't mean to come between you and your brother. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

Just then, the cloud overhead was pierced by a stream of sunlight.

Tori let out a relieved sigh, giving Hunter's back one last pat.

"About time you came around," Blake commented, patting his brother's arm. "I love you, but damn you're stubborn sometimes."

Hunter frowned. "That wasn't me," he said, looking from the dissipating cloud over to Tobi, who was standing several feet away with his arms raise. Somehow, he was using sunlight to dissipate Hunter's thunder cloud. Dustin was standing next to him, his face full of the same amazement that Tori and Blake's faces held.

"I felt like how you feel," Tobi said, lowering his arms, "but, Hunter, even if you think we'd be better off without you, you're wrong. You made Dustin happy and I think you made Tori happy too." He glanced at his sister, who nodded. "Blake's your brother, so of course he needs you."

"Brotherly advice and all," Blake agreed.

Hunter forced a small grin. "That's true. He's helpless without me."

"Hey!" Blake protested.

Tobi walked up to Hunter and put an arm around him. "I saved your life," he told Hunter. "That means something. It means you can't want to throw that away. I died for you, meaning you matter _bigtime_."

"Yeah, dude," Dustin agreed, pulling the two into a group hug.

Tori smiled and wrapped her arms around the three. "We care about you."

Blake shrugged and decided he might as well join his brother's fan club and hugged him as well.

Hunter chuckled lightly to himself while rubbing a hand through his brother's short black hair. "This probably looks ridiculous."

"Just like a big fruit salad," Blake commented, eying Tori, who promptly hit him lightly, though she was still smiling.

"Mmm, fruit salad!" Dustin declared.

"They make mixed fruit ice cream," Tobi suggested.

"You think you can like get _permanent_ brain freeze?" he asked.

"I doubt it," Tobi replied as the group hug dispersed.

"Speaking of fruit, I'm sure our kiwi is waiting for us to get back so we can all go home," Tori suggested.

"Why not lime?" Blake asked.

"I like kiwi better," Tori explained.

"Okay, you guys have to spill what this whole fruit thing is about!" Hunter insisted, grabbing his brother and Tori.

"Sure, _strawberry_," Tori agreed.

"Can I be cherry?" Tobi asked. "Especially those little chocolate covered cherries."

Tori's cheeks immediately flushed.

Blake laughed. "Dude, don't even go there," he warned.

"What?" Tobi asked.

Hunter just patted Tobi's shoulder.

"You like Cherry Coke?" Dustin asked Tobi.

"Of course!" Tobi agreed. "And Orange and Pineapple. Oh, and speaking of drinks, you can't forget lemonade. It's a classic."

"Total classic," Dustin agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, let's get back to Ninja Ops," Hunter said, shaking his head. "Strawberry, he muttered. "Why couldn't I be apple?"

* * *

Cam was busy making last minute preparations before their departure when he noticed a moth flying around.

"Dude, that's the first time I've seen any kind of insects in Ninja Ops," Shane pointed out while he played mindlessly with Skyla's hair.

"I know," Cam replied, squinting at the flying creature suspiciously. When it tried landing on the keyboard in front of him, he shooed it away, but it was too fast for his samurai reflexes.

"Want me to look for bug spray?" Shane offered.

"What does spraying it do to the bug?" Skyla asked curiously.

"It kills it," Shane replied, confused.

Skyla's eyes widened. "Oh," she mumbled.

"Somehow I doubt that would be effective," Cam replied as he watched the moth hop from one key to another at a lightning pace. On the screen, it looked like a signal code was being entered. By this point, Cam already had his suspicions, so he decided to just let the tiny creature do its thing.

When it was done, it went back to hovering in front of Cam while the screen popped up an image of Goldwinger.

"Ah, my friend!" Goldwinger greeted happily. "Can you hear me alright?"

"Yes, I can hear and see you," Cam replied, unimpressed.

"Wonderful!" Goldwinger said, fluffing his wings.

"Woah, how'd he do that?" Shane asked, approaching the screen.

"The moth has a camera and it tuned the computer to its frequency," Cam explained.

Shane nodded. "Doesn't explain how it got in here."

"I have my ways," Goldwinger said with an evil laugh. Well, it was an attempt at one anyway. It came out mostly like a girl having a giggle fit.

"I take it that here's a reason you're contacting us," Cam prompted.

"Yes indeed," Goldwinger agreed. "I was looking for that studly hunk of a man Hunter."

"Studly hunk of a man?" Shane whispered to Cam. "Does he always talk like this?"

Cam just blinked. "I'll tell him you're looking for him," he offered. "We'll all be headed to the park soon anyway. Will your Zord be able to fit us all?"

"It might be a little tight, you know, but sure," Goldwinger agreed. "you might have to press your hard bodies against each other as the jostling of the Zord rubs your—"

"I get the picture," cam said, covering his head in his hands.

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" Goldwinger added. "I have a little something for you. I felt bad about what happened to that adorable little owl, so I had Perry whip up a little flying creature." Suddenly a metallic gold moth with a big goofy looking face flew up on the screen. "I'm having my MOTH send over it's schematics now," Goldwinger added as a series of blueprints began to fill the screen.

"Thanks, Goldwinger," Cam replied, genuinely surprised.

"Any time!" he declared happily. "I'll miss you guys, but at least my little mechanical friend will be able to let us keep in touch."

"Oh, it can communicate across dimensions…" Cam began, uncertain how he felt about that particular feature. "That's… interesting."

"Remember the hunky studmuffin!" Goldwinger added.

Cam nodded. "Right," he agreed. "See you later, Goldwinger." He then waited for Goldwinger's MOTH to fly off wherever it had come from.

The moment it was gone, almost on cue, Hunter entered with Tori, Blake, Dustin and Tobi.

"Hunter, bro, that moth dude Goldwinger was asking about you," Shane teased Hunter. "He totally has the hots for you." He paused. "At least, I think it's a he."

The others visibly cringed as they approached Cam.

"Is it time to go home, Cam?" Tori asked with a hopeful expression.

"I'll be ready in a moment," he told herce. "I just want to make sure I'm not forgetting to do anything. I've set the Zords to self destruct, set a remote activated virus, tested Tobi's morpher, reconfigured the—"

"Tobi has a morpher?" Blake interrupted.

"Yeah, how awesome is that?" Dustin said, offering Blake a high five, which he declined for some reason the yellow ranger didn't catch.

Tori put an arm around Tobi's shoulders. "You finally get your wish. Not only are you a ninja, but you're a Power Ranger too."

Tobi grinned. "Yeah, it's everything I used to want but with people who care about me."

"Aw," Tori said, hugging him.

"Technically speaking, it does not make you a Power Ranger," Cam pointed out. "I should also mention that it may still prove dangerous. While it does work at channeling the Sun Amulet's energy in simulations, it may have an unexpected response to a human subject. That being said…" He handed Tobi the gold morpher, the Sun Amulet affixed where a power disk would be on a regular morpher. "Don't activate it yet," he warned. "For now, a communicator will be all you need it for. Once we get back to our dimension and retake that Ninja Ops, I can use the biobuffer there to protect you in case the test fails."

"Thanks for all your concern for me," Tobi said, hugging Cam lightly before asking, "Will I morph?"

Cam's cheeks flushed from the contact, but then Tobi released him in order to put on the morpher. "Neither Doctor Oliver nor Sensei Omino morphed when they bonded with the Shade Amulet," Cam replied.

"Oh," Tobi said, disappointed.

Dustin put an arm around Tobi. "Let's go to the park so we can like… say goodbye and stuff."

"I bet you're looking forward to being able to morph," Tobi told Dustin.

"Morph," Cam suddenly realized, hitting his forehead with his hand. "I need to realign all your morphers."

Dustin offered his first and Cam proceeded to realign it.

"I'll go change while you guys do that," Tobi said, looking down at his shorts.

Dustin blushed. "Sounds good," he said with a nod.

Tobi smiled at him before leaving the room.

Hunter noticed Dustin's flushed cheeks and he couldn't help but sigh.

"Dude, you okay?" Dustin asked, genuinely concerned.

Hunter nodded. "He makes you happy, doesn't he?"

Dustin grinned, his eyes adopting a dreamy look. "Yeah, he does. I love him a lot."

"You love him?" Tori repeated.

Dustin nodded. "TZT helped me figure it out. He's awesome."

Hunter blinked. "Yeah, awesome," he mumbled.

Tori gave the crimson ninja a sympathetic look. He looked back at her, offering her a smile in return.

"I'm glad you're happy," Hunter told Dustin.

"Thanks, dude," Dustin replied, giving Hunter a hug.

"There you go," Cam said, finishing with Dustin's morpher. His eyes were locked on the two hugging as he continued. "If we time it right or my electromagnetic field disruptor works, you'll be able to become the yellow ranger again."

Dustin grinned, releasing Hunter. "That'll be cool and all, but I kinda liked being Awesome Dude."

"You'll always be Awesome Dude," Cam told him, earning the samurai a surprised look from the others. "Anyway, who's next?" he asked.

Tori offered her morpher to Cam as Tobi returned to the room wearing his training suit.

"Hey, let's go see if Marah's at the park with Destiny and Geodude," Dustin said, grabbing Tobi by the arm.

Tobi studied Dustin's face for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Sure."

"We'll meet you guys there soon," Tori called as Tobi and Dustin left Ninja Ops.

"Dude, did you see how they were like connected at the hip?" Shane asked. "Dustin'd move in synch with Tobi."

"That's what happens when you're in love," Tori told him.

Shane looked at Hunter. "That's why you're so quiet. Dustin never said he loved you."

Hunter started to open his mouth to speak, but his brother spoke first. "That's not the only reason," Blake began before noticing the worried looks in Tori and Hunter's eyes. "But you know Hunter's never been much of a talker," he quickly added.

Shane nodded, accepting Blake's answer and overlooking the little exchange.

"I'm glad that they're both happy," Skyla spoke up. "They deserve that."

"Yeah," Hunter nodded in agreement. "They do."

"Speaking of in synch," Tori said, gesturing toward Shane and Skyla, "you two seem pretty close too."

Shane smiled at Skyla. "I think we are."

Skyla nodded. "We are," she agreed. "I love him."

Shane blushed, looking back at the others.

"We noticed a while ago," Tori told Shane.

"You two are set," Cam told Tori and Shane. "I'll meet you at the park with my father soon. Call me if you need anything."

Shane nodded. "Will do," he agreed, offering a hand to Skyla. "You ready to go?"

"Yes," she agreed, following him out.

"Hey, Tor, I'll, uh, catch up with you later," Blake said as he handed Cam his morpher.

She looked between the two brothers and nodded. "Sure," she agreed. "Don't be long." She patted a hand on both before leaving Ninja Ops.

"Bro, we've got to work this out," Blake told Hunter once Tori had left.

"What's to work out?" Hunter asked. "I told you I want you both to be happy."

"And we won't be happy unless you're happy," Blake retorted.

Cam looked up from his work on Blake's morpher. "You two are _both_ interested in Tori?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Hunter admitted.

Cam sighed. "She seems to have that effect on people." His eyes glazed over for a moment.

Blake nodded. "I hear that," he agreed.

"Dustin seems to also have a similar effect on people," Cam added, glancing at Hunter.

"It's the eyes," Hunter suggested.

"It certainly isn't the brain," Cam commented.

"Hey!" Hunter protested. "Dustin's not stupid."

Cam have him an apologetic look. "I know that. I just mean it would have been nice to combine his looks with a… less impulsive personality."

Hunter raised an eyebrow toward Cam. "Yeah, I guess I see your point."

"Level headedness has its advantages," Cam mused, "as you know from yourself."

Hunter nodded before smiling. "We sound like a bunch of old ladies sitting around talking about lost love."

"Who you calling an old lady?" Blake asked.

Cam chuckled softly. "Hunky's right. We sound—"

"Did you just call me… hunky?" Hunter interrupted.

Cam froze. "Hunter. I meant Hunter," he corrected, blinking for a moment before groaning. "It's that Goldwinger's fault. He kept calling you a 'studly hunk of a man.'"

Blake shook his head. "That monster is seriously freakier than any of the ones we fought."

Hunter looked at Cam. "So, it's not that you think I'm… good looking?"

Cam's cheeks flushed. "Well, I, uh," he stuttered. "I mean, of course you're good looking. People do fall all over themselves to get your attention, but there's a difference in being aware of aesthetic beauty and lust. I simply wish I had what you have."

"You're jealous of me?" Hunter asked, surprised. "Wait, so you think I'm… _beautiful_?"

"I didn't…" Cam began, trying to calm himself. He handed Blake back his morpher rather forcefully. "I happen to be aware when certain people are attractive, such as you or Dustin, but it's tied into the fact that I want to be one of those males that women find as… irresistible as you two."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Hunter said with a slight chuckle.

"That's what I tell myself and it's the truth," he insisted.

"So, Cam, you're like totally straight or are you bi like my bro?" Blake asked.

Cam thought for a moment as he took Hunter's morpher. "I would say that I'm a one and a half, possibly two at most on the Kinsey Scale."

"The what scale?" Hunter asked.

"In the 1950s, Alfred Kinsey extensively researched human sexuality," Cam explained. "He showed that most people fall somewhere _between_ one, one being entirely heterosexual, and six, six being entirely homosexual, and that it is rare to be one of the extremes."

"Which means?" Hunter prompted.

"Most people are bisexual to at least a small degree," Cam replied. "For me, it is a _very_ small degree."

Hunter smirked. "Uh huh. We totally buy that, don't we?" he asked, looking at his brother.

Blake rolled his eyes. "Not with how he was going on about Dustin's looks. So, what, am I the only straight guy?"

"Bro, there is no way you're totally straight," Hunter told him.

Blake's cheeks flushed. "Don't go there," he warned. "You're my bro. It doesn't count."

Hunter continued to smirk. "Course not."

Cam gave the two a suspicious look. "Well, your morphers are realigned," he said, handing Hunter back his morpher. My father and I will join you shortly."

"Right," Blake agreed, turning to leave, his cheeks still red. "You coming, bro?" he asked.

Hunter paused, leaning over Cam and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled, chuckling to himself. "Later, straight man."

"You are _cruel_," Blake told Hunter as he joined him.

"What? He's got to learn," Hunter justified. "And so do you."

Blake put up his hands as the two left Ninja Ops. "Don't even! I'm glad you're feeling better, but not now!"

Cam stared at the exit to Ninja Ops. He had only ever really found males attractive when they had feminine features or, in Tobi's case, reminded him of a girl. Maybe, on rare occasions, he had found Dustin cute, but cute was hardly a masculine feature. Hunter, on the other hand, was certainly _not_ feminine in the least and suddenly that two on the Kinsey Scale was starting to look less realistic. As he felt his cheeks still flushed, am wondered if he might be leaning toward a three.

* * *

"When are they coming?" Geo asked impatiently as he hopped up and down next to a banner that some kelzaks were setting up in the middle of the park. The banner read, "Thank You, Power Rangers!"

"Soon, I hope," Marah told him, glancing at Kapri.

"They said they'd be here," Kapri assured them both while Destiny barked at one of the kelzaks. The kelzak jumped away from the dog, scared, and ended up crashing into another kelzak. The banner then came tumbling down on top of both as Destiny continued to bark.

Mayor Lothor bent over, helping the kelzaks up. "I never thought there would come a day when, as mayor, I'd be _thanking_ the Power Rangers for anything," he said as he helped with the banner.

"Not only did they help defeat the evil Power Rangers, Kiya," grumpy Sensei said from atop his wife's shoulder, "but one of them also defeated Zordon by himself."

His wife turned her head toward the guinea pig. "What happened to Tori's twin not being good for anything?"

"I told you, Miko, I was wrong about a lot of things," he admitted.

"That's true," she agreed with a smirk. "You're wrong about him being a Power Ranger."

He gave her a sharp look, which was difficult considering he was a cute little furry creature. "I think he will become a Power Ranger," he explained, "so I'm not really _wrong_."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that makes perfect sense," she said sarcastically.

He tried to cross his arms, but quickly realized his limbs were too short. "When he becomes a Power Ranger, I expect an apology."

"From who?" she asked, trying to keep a serious face.

He just shook his head. Even as a guinea pig, he could still do that right.

"Is he here yet?" a voice called as the others turned to see Goldwinger, Ryan and Perry approaching. A fat bodied, big headed mechanical moth was flying next to them.

"Not yet," Lothor informed the newcomers. "If you want, you can help us set up."

"We'd love to help!" Goldwinger quickly agreed.

"All I do all f*&$% day long is work," Perry complained.

Ryan leaned toward Goldwinger and whispered, "What do you see in him?"

"I'll show you!" Goldwinger replied, intentionally dropping a wrench. "Perry, would you get that for me?"

Perry grumbled something unintelligible as he bent over to retrieve the tool. Both Ryan and Goldwinger tilted their heads to stare.

Ryan nodded toward Goldwinger. "Now I see."

Meanwhile, more kelzaks set up a stage near the banner.

"Oh! There they are!" Kapri declared upon seeing Dustin and Tobi approaching.

Marah, Geo and Destiny immediately ran over to greet them.

"Marah says you're leaving," Geo told Dustin as he stopped in front of the earth ninja.

Dustin ran a hand through his hair, looking from Geo up to Marah. "Yeah, that's true," he agreed.

"But I don't want you to go!" Geo protested.

"Neither do I," Marah confessed. "And it looks like Destiny wants you to stay too," she added as Destiny ran in a circle around Dustin.

Dustin reached down and picked up Destiny, holding her close enough that she could lick some of the remaining ice cream off his face. "Maybe you guys can come with us," he suggested.

"Yay!" Geo promptly cheered.

"Do you really think your friends will let us?" Marah asked hopefully.

Dustin frowned. "Probably not," he admitted.

Tobi looked from Marah and Geo to Dustin. He reached out and petted Destiny in Dustin's arms. "If you came, would you guys miss your home?" he asked outloud.

"Me and Kapri have been on our own for a while," Marah explained. "It's Geo I'd be worried about. You sure you can't stay?"

"Yeah, please stay!" Geo begged. "We can play Power Rangers together!"

"Not Pokémon, Geodude?" Dustin asked, surprised.

"Power Rangers are way cooler," Geo insisted.

"Yeah, Power Rangers are awesome!" Dustin agreed.

"Awesome!" Geo repeated, giggling.

"It's too bad they don't have chocolate sandwiches and like all the stuff you said back in our dimension," Dustin told Marah. "They don't have pizza ice cream either."

Tobi pouted. "Yeah, don't remind me," he mumbled.

"So then stay," Marah suggested.

Dustin looked down at the dog in his arms and then back to Geo and Marah. He then looked over at Tobi. "TZT, you were like born here. This is your home. You want to stay here?"

Tobi put an arm around Dustin. "I was born here, but I never belonged here."

"But you did all that awesome stuff here," Dustin pointed out.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, "but only after I met you. This isn't my home."

Dustin gave him a confused look.

"Home is where the heart is," Tobi explained with a grin. "And my heart is wherever you are."

Dustin smiled at him. "So… if I stayed, you'd stay."

Tobi raised his eyebrows. "If that's what you want." He looked toward a hopeful Marah before turning back to Dustin. "But what about the others? Will they want to stay?"

Dustin proceeded to pout. "Nah, probably not," he admitted.

"Why don't you ask them," Marah suggested, gesturing toward Shane, Skyla and Tori who were approaching.

Dustin smiled, running over to his friends. Tobi quickly followed suit. "Dude! Can we stay?" Dustin asked Shane before he even had a chance to greet him.

"Stay?" Shane asked, confused.

"Yeah, 'cause there's lots of cool stuff here like aliens and pizza ice cream and Marah and Geo and Destiny," he listed off, holding out Destiny to illustrate.

"Dustin, we can't stay," Tori told him softly.

"Yeah, dude, we have to save our own dimension now," Shane added.

Dustin went back to pouting.

"Maybe we could bring some of the things you like about this dimension with us," Skyla suggested.

"Skyla's right," Shane said, smiling at her proudly.

"People too?" Dustin asked.

"What people?" Tori asked before realizing. "Oh, Marah." She looked at Tobi briefly before looking back at Dustin. "We'll have to see what Sensei says."

"But he'll at least let Tobi come, right?" Dustin pleaded.

"Right," Tori agreed, though she gave her brother a slightly nervous glance.

"Ah, welcome," Mayor Lothor greeted, approaching with Vexacus and Shimazu. "We have quite a farewell planned for our heroes." He gestured toward the banner which was now fastened securely and the stage beyond it, where various humans and aliens were already gathering. "The governor might be making an appearance. Oh, and former President Zedd and his wife Rita told me to give this to you specifically, Tobi." He handed Tobi what looked like a round coaster.

He examined it in his hands before a hologram of Zedd and Rita appeared on it. "Is this thing on?" the small holographic Zedd asked Rita.

"It figures that it wouldn't come with instructions," the miniature Rita commented.

"I think the blinking light means something," Zedd pointed out.

"Ah, well, if you can hear me…" Rita began, pausing to look at Zedd.

"I think it was Thomas or something like that," Zedd suggested. "I had such a headache at the time, you know."

"I do know my poor Zeddypoo," Rita said. "We'll be on Triforia before you know it." She then began addressing Tobi. "Well, then, person who defeated Zordon single handedly, we owe you more than we can possibly ever give you."

"Especially after this trip," Zedd added. "I think we'll be broke."

"We've spoken to President Org and he has agreed to make yesterday a national holiday in honor of you," Rita continued. "I expect he'll know your name in order to do that."

"It's not much, but we both thank you!" Zedd added.

"Now how do you turn it off?" Rita asked.

"Just give it to Lothor," Zedd suggested. "I really need a vacation already!"

"Of course, snookums," Rita agreed. The two little holograms then proceeded to start making out.

"Uh," Tobi mumbled, trying not to look at the miniature kissing fest, "that was really nice of them." He then handed the device back to Lothor.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure the president knows your name," Lothor assured Tobi as he took the device.

After a moment, Tobi realized that the rangers were looking at him. "What?" he asked.

"See, he's a hero!" Dustin declared.

"I knew that," Tori agreed with a smile before noticing the crowd gathering around the stage in the distance. "Is the stage for… singing?" she asked Lothor hesitantly.

"Various performances including music, yes," Lothor agreed.

She visibly cringed. "Great, she said, looking at Shane.

He nodded at her. "Yeah, that's something I definitely won't miss," he whispered.

Just then a pink helicopter landed in the middle of the park. Out hopped several humans and aliens wearing pink.

"Frax and the Golden Guardians send their thanks and appreciation," Nadira said, approaching and waving at Kapri.

"The boys were busy," Alyssa agreed, approaching with Dana. "So, as usual, it's up to the girls to take charge of the situation."

"What situation is that, Alyssa?" Dana asked.

"The situation of party time!" Archerina declared.

"Damn right!" Alyssa agreed, slapping Archerina's hand with a loud metal clunk.

Dana shook her head as Ryan ran over to the group.

"Hey, Doctor Little Sis, where'd you disappear to?" he asked Dana.

"I received a call from our father," she explained. "He wants offer you a position as head professor for the Research and Best Practices Division in Sacramento."

"Really?" Ryan asked, surprised, but then he paused. "What about you?"

A smile curled up on her lips. "He wants me to head the California Department of Health."

"Congratulations!" Ryan said, hugging his sister.

"So I guess you'll be leaving the Pink Protectors," Alyssa commented in an unusually somber tone.

Dana looked at her. "I'll still be heading PULSE and I think I'll be able to stay in Pink Protectors."

"You always were good at time management," Alyssa agreed, "but in Sacramento…"

"You know, I think my father might need someone to head his security detail," Dana offered.

"Really?" Alyssa asked excitedly, grabbing Dana rather forcefully and giving her a kiss on the mouth before pulling away with a big smile.

"Am I going to have to defend my sister's honor now?" Ryan asked Alyssa, laughing.

Dana's cheeks were flushed. "I… No, I can handle myself."

"Of course you can, Dana!" Alyssa agreed, throwing a punch toward Dana's shoulder, but Ryan caught her fist in his hand.

"You'll have to watch that right hook of yours around my sis," Ryan told Alyssa, grinning as he leaned forward and whispered to her, "My dad let me keep my morpher, you know, for _emergencies_."

"I'll keep that in mind," Alyssa said, lowering her arms to her side.

"Ah, my friends!" Goldwinger greeted, approaching with his mechanical moth. He looked around. "Where's your friend Hunter? Surely you're not leaving him beh—" He suddenly paused. "On second thought, no one seems to be missing here. Best of luck!"

"We haven't forgotten Hunter," Tori assured him with a roll of her eyes. "He'll be here."

"Speaking of Mr. Popular," Shane said, glancing over to an approaching Hunter and Blake.

The two brothers quickly found their path blocked by the combined forces of Goldwinger and Ryan.

"So, Hunter, I was thinking that, in exchange for using my Zord, you have to do a little something for me," Goldwinger began.

Ryan looked at him. "Ah, so playing dirty are we?" he asked with a grin. "Like you'd really forbid them from using your Zord to go home."

"I might," Goldwinger replied. "Besides, it's just a little thing really."

The two brothers exchanged worried looks. "Uh, what is it?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ryan asked, turning to Goldwinger, the smile never leaving his face.

"I'm glad you asked!" Goldwinger replied, clapping his hands together. "I just want you to take off your shirt and show off what I'm sure is a well defined chest you've got under there."

Hunter crossed his arms while Blake rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?" Hunter asked.

"Completely!" Goldwinger assured him.

"Just humor him," Blake told Hunter, shaking his head.

"Fine," Hunter mumbled, removing his shirt.

"Oh yes, that's the stuff!" Goldwinger declared.

Ryan just let his eyes do the talking. Of course, what they were saying was definitely R rated.

Hunter started to put his shirt back on when Goldwinger stopped him.

"One more thing before I let you use my Zord," he added, turning to Blake. "You look like you're getting something out of this."

Blake's cheeks flushed. "What! I'm his brother! I'm just embarrassed for him is all."

"Sure, sure," Goldwinger said dismissively. "All I want you to do is to lick Hunter's nipples. They're so pink and rosy. I'm sure you'll both enjoy that!"

Blake just stared at him with wide eyes before offering his brother a pleading look.

Hunter shrugged. "Just get it over with I guess," he suggested.

"No way am I licking my bros' nipples!" Blake protested.

"If we're stranded here, it's your fault," Hunter said with a smirk.

Blake glared at him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked.

"Why would I be?" Hunter asked, putting a bare arm over Blake's shoulder.

"One lick!" Blake insisted, shaking his head.

Hunter smiled as his brother reluctantly stuck his face against his bare chest. He could feel his younger brother's breath on him until… a tongue lightly caressed his right nipple. This elicited a low moan from Hunter.

Blake was only going to give his brother a quick lick, but the moan of pleasure made him go for a quick tongue swirl. His older brother may have annoyed him at times, but they were still brothers and Hunter had always been there to care for him and show him a level of closeness and affection that he almost never showed anyone else.

"Blake…" Hunter breathed, running his fingers through his younger brother's short black hair. "Right there, just like that…"

Blake's tongue slid across Hunter's chest until it reached the opposite nipple, where it once again swirled, causing yet another low moan to rise from Hunter's chest out his mouth.

Hunter reached down, placing his hands on each side of his brother's face and pulling him away from his chest so he could look at him. "Thanks, bro," he told him.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, not saying anything until the sound of applause drew their attention back to Goldwinger and Ryan. But, as the two looked over, they saw a crowd consisting of the rangers, Marah and Kapri and the Pink Protectors.

Both brothers' cheeks went crimson as Hunter quickly put back on his shirt.

"Reconsidering the fruit salad thing, I see," Tori commented, eying Blake.

"Dude, was it just me, or was that really hot?" Dustin whispered to Tobi.

"No, it was alright," Tobi agreed.

"We should totally try that sometime," Dustin added.

"Uh, sure," Tobi replied, giving Dustin a surprised look.

"You two sure take brotherly love to a whole new level," Marah commented. "But, since we're all brothers and sister of the earth, I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Yeah!" Dustin agreed, smiling toward Marah.

"Don't get any ideas, Alyssa," Dana warned as she watched her stare a little too long.

"Let's forget this ever happened," Hunter suggested.

"That will be difficult," a voice called and the group turned to see Cam with Sensei on his shoulder.

The brothers went even more crimson.

"Your personal life choices are your own," Sensei said as Cam approached.

"Surprising as they might be," Cam mumbled to himself.

"But Goldwinger made us do it!" Blake insisted.

The others offered him doubtful looks.

"In any case, rangers, it is time to return to our proper dimension," Sensei declared. "Goldwinger, will you check on the status of the other Power Rangers?"

"Will do!" Goldwinger said with a little salute. He then vanished into a puff of sparkling gold dust and shimmering yellow light.

"While he's gone, you should _so_ sing for us again, Tobi!" Kapri urged.

"You totally should!" Dustin agreed.

"Yeah, someone else needs to embarrass himself," Blake suggested.

"Uh… I guess," Tobi reluctantly agreed.

"And make it something happy this time," Dustin told him.

"Sure," he agreed, giving Dustin a pat. "I'll make it something totally rockin!"

"Awesome!" Dustin declared.

"Awesome!" Geo repeated, mimicking Dustin.

Destiny barked in agreement.

As Tobi approached the stage, Cam's mother approached with grumpy Sensei on her shoulder. "We've talked it over and have decided to ask if we can come with you," she said, glancing at her husband.

"It's not that we think you're incompetent," grumpy Sensei commented. "We just think that we might be able to convince the others to come back with us."

"He has a point," Cam agreed, looking toward the guinea pig on his own shoulder.

Sensei paused, thinking. "We must be cautious that our motives for bringing them are legitimate ones and are not based on… reactions we may have to seeing Miko again."

"Of course," Cam replied quietly while his father continued to think.

"Agreed," Sensei finally said. "But, when Goldwinger returns, we must ask if he will be able to carry us all."

"What about my brother?" Tori asked, glancing from the stage back to Sensei.

"Your brother?" Sensei repeated.

"I consider him my brother," Tori explained. "Will he be coming, Sensei?"

Sensei thought some more. "He has given me a great many concepts regarding my beliefs about destiny to consider," he mused before declaring, "I believe he will be helpful in defeating or possibly… befriending his true sister and her friends."

Tori nodded, relief clear on her face.

Dustin jumped up and down, clapping his hands together.

"He's starting," Shane commented, gesturing to the stage. "Is he any good?"

"He's actually very good," Cam told him.

Over on the stage, Tobi asked the band of aliens if they knew how to play "Go Surfing Ninja."

As the music started, Tobi stared out at the crowd, nervous until he found Dustin, who was already hopping up and down excitedly. "The call is on," Tobi began. "Their force is getting strong. They'll have to brave the weather. Ninja storm, stand together." By this point, Dustin was dancing around to the much more upbeat tune. "The storm will grow! The waters flow, Power Ranger ninjas, go! Power Rangers, Ninja Storm is growing! It's growing! Go, Power Rangers go, Ninja Storm, Let's Go!"

Suddenly the ground began to rumble and shake, causing the humans and aliens in the crowd to begin to panic.

"Sorry!" Dustin shouted. "That was me! He's totally rockin!"

The other rangers offered him a smile and a few shook their heads.

Once it was clear that there was no cause for alarm, the crowd turned their attention back to Tobi's performance. "The speed of the wind," he continued, "and strength like thunder! Go, Power Rangers, go, Ninja Storm, let's go! Power Rangers, go, Ninja Storm, let's go!"

"I'm not sure he knows his audience," Lothor commented outloud, "even if the Power Rangers are currently the good guys."

"Maybe not," Ryan told him, "but I think I've just found a theme song for Goldie's Power Rangers tv show."

"He's making a show?" Lothor asked. "You know, if he needs any pointers…"

Just then, a gust of wind blew from overhead, drawing everyone's attention upward. A massive multicolored flying saucer hovered in the sky. The performance stopped as five aliens materialized on the ground below it. Their bodies looked human but their heads were purple and had strange spots. They each had their hands in front of them, their fingers making diamond shapes.

"You're mayor, Kiya, do something!" grumpy Sensei insisted.

Lothor reluctantly approached the five visitors.

"Don't worry, they're good aliens," Dustin told the others.

"How do you know?" Shane asked skeptically.

"Because here all aliens are good just like back in our dimension all aliens are bad," Dustin said as if it were obvious.

"I guess you've got a point," Shane agreed with a shrug.

"Uh, I am mayor of Blue Bay Harbor," Lothor spoke. "I would like to welcome you."

"Thank you for your hospitality," one of the aliens spoke. "We come from the planet Aquitar. We have been watching your planet closely."

"And you chose to come specifically to Blue Bay Harbor?" Lothor asked. "I must say, we are honored."

"We have been waiting to come here until this moment," another alien spoke.

"Why now?" Alyssa spoke up.

"The Power Rangers have turned from evil to good," a third alien explained.

"And why does that matter?" grumpy Sensei asked.

"We are Power Rangers of a kind too," a fourth alien stated.

"Alien Power Rangers!" Dustin declared.

"We were the ones responsible for the defeat and capture of Andros," the fifth alien added.

"I thought that was President Mondo," Lothor commented.

"We allowed him to take credit as we wished to remain anonymous," the alien explained. "We also come to bestow a gift to one of you."

"Only one of us?" Lothor asked.

"Him," the first alien stated, pointing toward Tobi.

"Me?" Tobi asked.

"You are the hero, dude," Dustin told him as Tobi approached the aliens.

"We can grant you a single wish, so long as it is within our power," an alien spoke.

Tobi looked at Dustin before glancing at the others and then back to the aliens. "I have everything I need," he admitted. He paused, looking back at Hunter. "Actually, can you make sure Hunter is happy?"

"Me?" Hunter asked, confused.

"You deserve it," Tobi told him.

Hunter couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," he replied.

Tori patted Hunter's arm, smiling up at the blonde.

"We are sorry, but we can not grant emotions," an alien informed Tobi.

"Oh…" Tobi replied, looking down. As he did so, he noticed the morpher attached to his wrist. "Can you make it so that I can morph with the Sun Amulet?" he asked, looking back up at the aliens. "Then I'd really be a Power Ranger."

The five aliens exchanged looks, making gurgling sounds at one another before turning back to Tobi. "This we can do," an alien agreed before all five approached Tobi. "Hold out your arm."

Tobi held out his left arm and the aliens gathered around the gold morpher. Suddenly five different colored beams of light shot out from their heads toward his morpher. His arm began to burn, but he just focused on healing it while he continued to watch the rainbow of colors.

Once the process was completed, the five aliens stepped away. "We are finished," they stated.

"Thanks," Tobi replied, looking down at the morpher, which still looked exactly the same. He reached out, preparing to test it, but suddenly a pair of hands stopped him. He looked over to see Dustin, Tori and Hunter watching him.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Tori asked, turning to Cam.

"I really have no way of knowing," Cam replied, "but I built in a snap off release underneath just in case."

Tobi nodded, placing his other hand under the morpher strap.

"Tobi, be careful," Hunter whispered.

"Yeah, TZT," Dustin agreed before the three stepped back.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Tobi yelled, moving his arms and activating the morpher. "Power of Sunlight!"

Suddenly Tobi's entire body began to glow and the others couldn't help but gasp. For Tobi, though, the process was painless. Instead, it felt like he was being filled with an amazing amount of energy. When the glowing subsided, he looked down to find himself in a gold suit complete. He was also seeing through a helmet of some kind.

"It worked!" Dustin declared.

"I'm a Power Ranger!" Tobi yelled.

"I know!" Dustin agreed, pulling the morphed Tobi into a hug.

"You owe me that apology now," grumpy Sensei told his wife.

"Ain't gonna happen," his wife told him.

"I guess there's no chance of leaving him behind now," Cam told his father.

"There never was, Cam," Sensei replied. "There never was."

Just then, Goldwinger reappeared out of thin air. "I'm back to report that…" He paused, noticing the aliens and the ship overhead. "Did I miss something while I was gone?"

Ryan put an arm around Goldwinger. "You missed a great new theme song, but, besides that, Tobi's a Power Ranger."

"Ah," Goldwinger mumbled. "I love the gold!" he told Tobi. "That is you in there?" He waved an arm in front of Tobi's helmet.

"Yes, I'm in here, Goldwinger," Tobi assured him. "So, does this mean I have super powers now?" he asked Dustin.

"You always had super powers," Dustin assured him.

Tobi pressed a button on his morpher, which caused him to dimorph and return to his training suit.

The other rangers quickly gathered around him. "You're definitely one of us now," Tori told her brother.

"Thanks, guys," Tobi replied as Dustin patted his chest.

"Goldwinger," Cam addressed, "I wanted to ask you if it would be possible to bring more than just your Zord with us back to our dimension."

"What did you have in mind?" Goldwinger asked curiously.

"Let's bring Tobi's Zord!" Dustin immediately suggested.

"Well, that too," Cam replied, "but I was thinking about ours and Hunter and Blake's Zords."

"Ah, to join the Zord battle back in your dimension," Goldwinger realized.

"There is a Zord battle back in our dimension?" Sensei asked, concerned.

"That's right," Goldwinger replied.

The others exchanged worried looks.

"I've never tried whole Zords at once," Goldwinger admitted. "My Zord was assembled piece by piece, but I'll do my best. Oh, and I almost forgot! Cam, I have a special little flying friend for you!"

"Yes, thank you, Goldwinger," Cam replied as the mechanical moth flew over to him. "I studied the schematics and see that you left a spot for a second memory slot." He pulled out Circuit's memory panel and held it up to the mechanical moth.

"I knew you'd love it!" Goldwinger declared happily. "It may not be an owl, but it'll help you remember me."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Goldwinger, I seriously doubt any of us can forget you."

"Oh, you're too sweet!" Goldwinger cooed. "Between your cute friends and your studly friends, I'm quite jealous!"

Cam looked at Goldwinger, surprised. "You're jealous of _me_?"

"Of course!" Goldwinger replied. "We're both mechanics of a sort, but only one of us is friends with a gerbil and Hunter."

"Uh, right," Cam replied, inserting the panel into the moth.

"Dude, actually he's a guinea pig," Dustin corrected.

Suddenly the mechanical moth began flapping its wings wildly. "Where am I?" a voice came from it. "Trip?"

"Circuit?" Cam asked, surprised.

"Oh, hi Cam," the moth greeted.

"I think we're ready to go home," Tori said, smiling toward Cam.

"Yeah, home," Cam agreed.

"Oh, Sensei, can Marah and the others come too?" Dustin asked.

"It sounds as thought it would be too dangerous at this time," Sensei replied.

"But you're letting Cam's mom and grumpy you come," Dustin pointed out.

"They may prove useful in avoiding a confrontation with the other rangers," Sensei explained.

"Like, maybe we can help too," Kapri offered.

"I am sorry, but this is not the time," Sensei replied. "You belong here, where you will be safe."

"But I wanna come too!" Geo whined.

Dustin started to hand Destiny back to Marah, but she stopped him. "No," she said. "You keep her."

"Really?" Dustin asked.

"To remember us by," she added.

"I couldn't like _ever_ forget you," Dustin said honestly.

"And I'll never forget you," she agreed, giving him a hug. "Goodbye."

"And like say hi to the other versions of us too!" Kapri added.

Geo just stood there and pouted as the rangers made their way toward Goldwinger's Zord.

After Cam and the thunder brothers summoned their Zords, Goldwinger flew around, dropping gold dust on each of the Zords while Cam deactivated the self destruct setting using a portable device in his hand.

"I guess you'll be glad to get back," Tobi told Cam.

Cam looked at him for a moment. "I know yesterday I said that I couldn't wait to get back, but I'll admit your dimension has its charms." He looked over at Lothor talking to the alien rangers. "Plus, without this dimension, we would never have gotten to know you."

"Thanks, Cam," Tobi said, giving him a hug.

"You're welcome," Cam replied, patting Tobi's back and trying to keep his cheeks from flushing.

"All set," Goldwinger declared, landing. "You won't all fit in my little Zord, but I think your Zords will follow once I've opened the vortex."

"Thank you, Goldwinger," Sensei told him.

"And goodbye, my friends!" Goldwinger said, starting to cry. "Don't forget to keep in touch!"

Ryan put an arm around Goldwinger. "Good luck, guys," he told the rangers.

"Kick some evil Power Ranger ass for us!" Alyssa yelled.

"She means to say good luck as well," Dana added.

Dustin threw an arm around Tobi, a big grin on his face. "Let's go, _gold ranger_," he told him.

Tobi grinned back. "Sure thing, _yellow ranger_."

Blake noticed Hunter looking at Tobi and Dustin. "You okay, bro?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hunter replied, turning to face his brother. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, you have us," Tori chimed in.

Hunter nodded, smiling.

"How come Sensei never said anything about you not coming with us?" Shane asked Skyla curiously.

"Maybe it was our talk," she suggested, looking up at him. "Or maybe he knows… I'm your destiny."

"I like that," Shane commented. "Too bad, it's also the name of a dog." He chuckled lightly.

As the crowd said their goodbyes, the rangers, now including Tobi, and Cam's mother and grumpy Sensei entered the Zords.

Flash! Suddenly a glowing vortex started to sparkle open in the sky, pulling the Zords toward it.

"Don't go!" Geo yelled, but it was too late for him to be heard by Dustin or any of the others.

Marah held him back. "We'll all miss them," she said quietly.

Geo forced himself out of Marah's grip and began running toward the gold Phoenix Zord as it started lifting off the ground.

"Geo!" Marah called, running to him.

The boy jumped onto the clawed foot of the Phoenix Zord just as it was pulled toward the vortex.

"Geo!" Marah yelled, jumping, but missing the departing Zord and landing on the grass.

"Marah!" Kapri screamed, running over to her.

As the Phoenix Zord flew toward the vortex, Goldwinger's Moth Zord vanished into the sparkling vortex in the sky.

Marah and Kapri both looked toward the Thunder Megazord as it was also pulled toward the vortex. And, as the Phoenix Zord vanished, Marah and Kapri jumped onto a foot of the Thunder Megazord. They held on tight as the Megazord flew toward the vortex and—Flash!—a blinding light covered everything.

"Now that our heroes have departed," Lothor said to the alien rangers, "I wanted to introduce you to…" He paused, looking around. "Where are those girls?" He turned back to the aliens. "They're always so responsible. They'll turn up sooner or later."

Overhead, after all the Zords had left the dimension, the vortex flickered closed, leaving nothing but endless sky in its place.

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_**To be continued...**_

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_**Author's Note:**__ Okay, it's official! They're going home! Yes, you read it correctly, I had the PRNS theme song in there for some reason. In case you hadn't noticed, I had hints at different possible pairings for Hunter in this chapter because, while I was typing it up, the poll was tied between Tori, Cam and Blake. I'm thinking the runner up will be the pairing for evil Hunter. Also, I hope some of the humor in here wasn't over the top. I just couldn't resist (especially the Dustin/Tobi ice cream scene)! Let me know what you think of this __**last chapter in the Twilight Zone**__! Also, feel free to make suggestions for future chapters. Up next, they arrive back in their dimension to find…_


	33. Back With A Vengeance

**PLEASE VOTE: _Who should Hunter end up with?_** Take just a moment to vote in this poll at the top of my profile page. Remember, you can also make your opinion known by reviewing. Currently, Cam is leading, though I have to say that, personally, I didn't really want to do that pairing... But I'll go with whoever the most votes go to.

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**_rogue-ranger .deviantart .com _**_(take out spaces) Go there and see all kinds of crazy stuff, including some really awesome Dustin pics!_

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**_Author's Notes: _**_I re-watched the episode The Wild Wipeout to get another sense of how the other versions of each character act. Also, it's a fun episode. I don't focus much on Hunter in this chapter. In fact, the person I focus on the most is Dustin. So, yes, still not sticking solely to Tobi's perspective. I hope this style is working out._

_Oh, and **Ghostwriter** pointed out that it wasn't clear that Circuit had been put in a new body. I've tried to make it clearer in here, but, yes, Circuit was an owl, but all that was left was a memory panel when he sacrificed himself, so he now has a golden moth's body (thanks to Goldwinger). Also, I don't write the summaries of the previous chapters just for fun. They help not only remind you of what happened last time, but also sum up any important stuff that you might have missed or might not have been clear. As always, please let me know not only what you like and want to see, but also if anything is not clear. Thanks!_

_A recent review by **abovetheodds** made me start to look back through some previous chapters and I started noticing a lot of little errors here and there. Now, I was just skimming random chapters, so I can only imagine it's worse than what I found. My proofing process is simply me typing up what I wrote in my notebook, so obviously it leaves errors. I want to know this: Have I improved? Are there less errors in more recent chapters than previous ones? Also, do you think it's worth going back through all the chapters to fix the errors?_

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**_Attention Reviewers! _**_Please let me know if you have already voted in the Hunter poll so that I do not double count your opinion on this pairing. Thanks!_

_Thanks **Ghostwriter **for not only the review but also pointing out the whole Circuit being an owl thing. I've tried to make this clear in the author's note (see above)._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for all the praises for the last chapter! Strawberry is my favorite fruit flavor for ice cream besides cherry. I didn't really do anything with Hunter/Tori in here because I dealt mostly with Dustin, Tobi and the evil rangers. I really don't know how the poll regarding who Hunter should end up with will turn out, so you never know… Anyway, I have to apologize in advance for what happens to Marah in this chapter…_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for your continued reviews and encouragement! I figured you'd appreciate a little "brotherly love" in the last chapter. I guess we'll have to see who Hunter ends up with. I'm willing to do a three way with Hunter, Blake and Tori. I have a plan for the chapter after this one to bring TZ Dustin and Hunter together, but then I have to deal with TZ Dustin's "issues" first. It was fun to do things with the alternate versions of characters (like Alyssa) while it lasted…_

_Thanks **Ruon jian** for your love of the last chapter! I'm glad that I was able to create good character interactions. As far as TZ Hunter, I tried to reveal a bit of his personality in this chapter. Again, I try to base their personalities on the episode The Wild Wipeout. The difference, though, is that the evil rangers can change and evolve more than the good rangers. And, lastly, you got those Dustin in Heat updates you asked for, but I'll see if I feel inspired to write more smut._

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for the all caps encouragement! I needed it when trying to come up with this chapter. And, yes, Tobi's background is vital, especially since the chapter after this I plan to reference it at least a couple times. As for Tori meeting a guy named Tori, you're right that she's nice, so that kind of limits the effect. Plus, I can't have her fall for the guy because (while it would be strange) it would really complicate things. I hope things aren't too complicated as is…_

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**_Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:_**

**_Hunter still loves Dustin, but wants him and Tori to be happy together. While discussing his feelings with Tori, the two almost kiss. Blake witnesses this, but Tori assures him that she cares for both brothers. Meanwhile, Dustin and Tori have pizza ice cream and lick each other, resulting in clean faces but messy shorts. Goldwinger has Perry make a mechanical moth to replace the mechanical owl Circuit and he and Ryan convince the Bradley brothers to share a public display of affection. Meanwhile, Hunter convinces Cam that the overthinking green ranger might not be as heterosexual as he initially believed. After saying their goodbyes, alien Power Rangers land and make it so that Tori can morph into the gold Power Ranger. And, as the rangers leave with Destiny, Skyla, Cam's mother, grumpy Sensei and the new Phoenix Zord, Geo hops onto the departing Zords, forcing Marah and Kapri to follow as the group are transported back to their dimension..._**

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 33 (Back With A Vengeance)**

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The park was quiet and strangely empty when a sudden flash of light filled the sky. A red Hawk Zord immediately flew out from the light, followed by a blue Dolphin Zord, gold Moth Zord, gold Phoenix Zord and lastly and largest, the massive Thunder Megazord. And, with the Zords now in the center of an eerily similar park, the vortex to the dimension they had just come from flickered closed. They were home.

The occupants of the various Zords streaked to the ground, looking around.

"I for one am glad to be back," Tori was the first to say.

"So am I, but check it out," Shane said, drawing the group's attention to a Zord battle in the distance.

"So that's the Zord fight Goldwinger was talking about," Cam commented.

"Dude, the Zords are fighting… each other?" Dustin asked, still holding Destiny in his arms.

In the distance, their home dimension's Thunder Megazord and Wind Megazord were fighting against each other in the rock quarry outside the city.

"Rangers, look!" Circuit in the form of a gold moth said, gesturing with a wing toward the city.

The others squinted to see something large stomping through Blue Bay Harbor.

"It looks like an enlarged alien," Cam's mother suggested.

"Why are these guys fighting each other instead of Lothor's monster?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," Cam replied.

"Why would the alien attack the town?" Skyla asked Shane.

Shane cocked his head to the side, grinning. "I guess there's a lot left to explain."

Suddenly Goldwinger's Moth Zord began to glow behind them. Then, as it flickered and sparkled, it vanished. When it was gone, its absence revealed three figures standing behind it.

"Marah?" Dustin asked, approaching her, Kapri and Geo.

Marah offered him an embarrassed look.

"See, like, Geo ran off and we followed," Kapri quickly explained.

"I didn't want you to go," Geo added.

"He missed you," Marah offered, watching Dustin in a way that said she missed him too.

Tobi looked between the two and couldn't help but sigh silently.

"Looks like your cousins get into trouble in any dimension," Shane commented to Cam with a sideways grin.

"We're your cousins?" Marah asked, approaching Cam.

"Well, technically…" Cam began.

"Maybe you'd rather these were your cousins instead," Hunter suggested.

Cam looked at him for a moment. "Yes, alright, you're my cousins," Cam agreed, making a faint groan as Kapri skipped over to him.

"I always wanted a smart cousin!" Kapri cooed. "You are the smart one, right?"

Cam covered his face, shaking his head while Shane and Hunter couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course he's the smart one," Marah told her.

"Poor Cam," Tori whispered to Tobi.

"If they start singing again, I'm sending them back myself," grumpy Sensei warned.

"They sing?" Cam's mother asked her husband.

"Picture cats being slowly tortured," he explained from atop her shoulder.

"Hey, our singing isn't that bad," Marah insisted.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, looking at the others for backup.

"Uh, let's just get this thing moving," Shane interrupted. "Cam, I'm guessing we need to take back Ninja Ops first?"

"Yes, that would be the best plan," Cam agreed, "especially with our counterparts being busy." He gestured toward the Zord battle.

"Rangers, we should not neglect Lothor's monster," Sensei spoke up from atop Cam's shoulder. "Some of you should engage it while Cameron restores control of Ninja Ops."

"We'll do that," Hunter immediately offered, nodding to his brother.

"Shane and Tori," Sensei addressed, "use your Zords to assist Hunter and Blake."

The two nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

"Can I help?" Circuit offered.

"Actually, yes," Cam agreed.

"What about me?" Dustin asked.

"You can help Circuit and me take back Ninja Ops," Cam offered. "I'm not sure what the other you has set up and I may need your help."

Dustin grinned widely. "Dude, I'm like super good at helping." Then he looked down at Destiny. "What about the others?" he asked, bobbing his head toward Marah, Kapri, Geo, Skyla and Cam's mother. "We can't leave them here."

"They might turn into hostages," Shane added, holding onto Skyla.

"I'll take them… someplace," Tobi offered. "Maybe that sporting goods store you guys were in when I first came to this dimension. I'd never been there before that day, so I'm pretty sure my sister and her friends don't know about it."

"Storm Chargers. Yeah, Kelly's awesome," Dustin agreed, grinning at Tobi. "She'll help."

"Dustin, don't you think that's a bit much to ask of her?" Tori suggested.

"It's not like… permanent," he pointed out. "They're not moving in."

"I'll just try to keep them out of trouble," Tobi said, taking Destiny from Dustin.

"Good luck with that," Hunter commented.

"Actually, Tobi," Cam spoke up. "I was hoping you could provide a… distraction just in case my entering Ninja Ops alerts them."

"You want me to keep them in their Zords?" Tobi asked. "How?"

"You have a Zord," Cam suggested.

"But what if he's hurt?" Tori immediately interrupted. "Those are our _Mega_zords."

"Don't worry," Cam assured her. "The armor of the Phoenix Zord should withstand anything they throw at him. Besides, I don't _plan_ on taking that long."

Dustin put an arm around Tobi.

"I'll be okay," Tobi promised them. "After all, I'm a Power Ranger and the only one who can morph until the others demorph."

"So true!" Dustin agreed, offering Tobi a high five.

Tobi handed Destiny to Marah and returned the high five.

"Dude, that's how we say we love each other," Dustin whispered to Shane.

Shane raised an eyebrow. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Rangers, assume your positions," Sensei ordered, somersaulting onto Cam's mother's shoulder opposite grumpy Sensei. "I will lead the others to Storm Chargers."

"Be careful, dad," Cam told him.

"You too, be careful," Skyla told Shane.

"I'll be fine," Shane replied, offering her a hug before she joined Cam's mother.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Tobi declared, immediately morphing into the gold ranger.

"Dude, I still think that's _so_ awesome!' Dustin cheered.

"You're not the only one!" Tobi agreed.

"This is your first mission as a Power Ranger," Hunter told Tobi. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Tobi replied.

"Yeah, go kick their butts!" Dustin cheered before noticing the others giving him odd looks. He ran a hand through his wavy hair. "I mean, like go distract them," he offered.

Tobi patted Dustin's arm. "I love you, Dustin."

Dustin stared at Tobi's helmet as if willing himself to have x-ray vision. "I love you too, TZT."

Tobi stared at him from behind his helmet.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"It's just that I've been waiting my whole life for this moment," he explained.

"When you became a Power Ranger," Dustin realized. "Yeah, I know. I felt the same way."

"More than that," Tobi told him. "I've been waiting my whole life for you to tell me you love me." He then nodded toward Dustin before streaking up into the Phoenix Zord.

Dustin just watched him go with glossy eyes.

"You okay?" Tori asked him.

"Yeah," Dustin replied. "I should have told him a long time ago."

"You didn't know how you felt yet," she pointed out.

"Nah, I think I always knew…" he whispered.

Tori glanced at Hunter, but he just looked to his brother before the two streaked up to their Megazord.

"Let's go," Shane told Tori, who just nodded before entering her Zord as he entered his.

"When we reach the city, please do not speak," Sensei warned grumpy Sensei.

"Afraid he'll stick his little foot in his mouth?" Cam's mother suggested with a laugh.

"Guinea pigs do not talk in this dimension," Sensei explained.

Cam's mother and her husband exchanged glances. "Their loss," grumpy Sensei commented.

"Do guinea pigs wear clothes here?" Skyla asked.

"Ah, good point," Sensei agreed, looking to his counterpart.

"There is no way I'm going nude!" grumpy Sensei protested.

"But don't you have fur?" Marah pointed out.

"Maybe they could be stuffed animals," Geo suggested.

"Oh! And stuffed animals wear clothes!" Kapri added.

"Why do I get the feeling there's no way this is going to work?" Cam's mother asked herself as the group set out.

Meanwhile, Cam turned to Dustin. "We'll streak to Ninja Ops and you'll enter first."

Dustin nodded. "Uh huh," he agreed, watching the Phoenix Zord as it took off.

"Ready?" Cam asked, watching Dustin's gaze.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, turning back to him and smiling.

The two streaked off as the remaining Zords headed toward the city, where the giant alien was stomping around.

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Tobi found piloting the Phoenix Zord easy, but it was a good thing that he didn't need to use weapons because that part he wasn't sure about. He'd have to ask Cam later. His dimension's Dustin might also know. He briefly wondered if that Dustin would turn good and, if he did, what that would mean to him. After all, that was the Dustin he'd known the longest. But that wasn't the Dustin he loved.

He shook off his thoughts and dove down, tilting sideways and passing right between the two fighting Megazords. As expected, they paused to watch him. Then, unexpectedly, the two Megazords that had been battling each other only moments before, both began attacking his Zord together.

Tobi found himself spinning back toward the ground from a sudden impact, but he quickly managed to regain control before—blast!—a beam of electricity from the Thunder Megazord hit his Zord. He needed those weapons about now. He didn't want to hurt them on the off chance that they turned good and because his sister was probably in there somewhere, but he wanted to at least keep them from beating up on his new Zord.

As a sword from the Wind Megazord slashed down on his Phoenix Zord, Tobi aimed for the ground and pressed a random yellow button.

Instantly, the ground under the Megazords began crumbling, causing the two massive metal machines to lose their balance and fall over.

And, with that, he knew he'd found at least one distraction. His first mission as a Power Ranger was going smoothly so far.

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Meanwhile, Dustin and Cam streaked to Ninja Ops, where Cam motioned for Dustin to enter first while he stayed behind with Circuit. As Dustin descended down into the dimly lit room, it seemed empty and there certainly weren't any alarms blaring or anything like that. "Cam," he whispered, raising his morpher. "I think it's—"

Just then, Cam entered the room from another entrance.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Dustin asked, looking from Cam back to the main entrance he'd just come from.

"Do what, D-Man?" Cam asked. "So, you guys done playing around because I just found a sick DVD collection."

Dustin just stared at him. "Oh, I get it," he realized. "Cyber Cam."

"Is that your new nickname for me?" Cam asked curiously.

Dustin scrunched up his face in confusion until finally it sunk in. "I, uh," he mumbled. "I'll get the others."

"Cool, man," Cam agreed. "I'll look for popcorn. No movie time without popcorn."

Dustin nodded, agreeing with this Cam's logic before running back out the entrance. Once he was on the surface, he looked around. "Cam?" he whispered. "Dude, where'd you go?"

"He's over here," Circuit offered as Cam emerged from behind the debris that still littered the surface around Ninja Ops.

"What did you find?" Cam asked. "Did it need your handprint to enter?"

"Nah, dude, it's all open for business," Dustin explained, "and check this out: The other you is there."

"Is he alone?" Cam asked.

"Yeah, he's just like getting popcorn because obviously you can't have movie night without popcorn," he explained.

Cam just stared at him.

Dustin gave him a worried look. "Dude, don't tell me you don't like popcorn."

Cam blinked at him. "I like popcorn just fine, but was he morphed?"

Dustin snapped his fingers. "No," he admitted. "You think the others aren't morphed either?" He immediately called, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" but he didn't morph. 'Aw, man."

Cam removed the amulet from around his neck and it immediately enlarged. "Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!" Instantly, he morphed and turned to Dustin. "Now let's take over Ninja Ops."

"Who are we taking it back from?" Circuit asked.

"There are going to be two of each of us in this dimension," Cam explained. "I'm hoping the programing I added to your memory panel will keep you loyal to us."

"I'm loyal to the Power Rangers," Circuit offered. "Is that good enough?"

Cam sighed. "I hope so." He glanced at Dustin, who seemed to be thinking something. Before he could ask, Dustin spoke up.

"Can we watch a movie and have popcorn when we're done?" Dustin asked. "That'd be sweet. Kinda like a reward, you know?"

Cam glared at him from behind his helmet. "Let's stay focused here."

"Oh, yeah, right," Dustin agreed. "Ninja time!"

"Right," Cam replied as the three entered Ninja Ops.

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The combination of the Thunder Megazord working in tandem with the Hawk and Dolphin Zords was keeping Lothor's giant monster on its toes, but the big nosed creature kept focusing its attacks on the two smaller Zords, gradually wearing them down.

"Guys, you think we can combine without Dustin's Zord?" Hunter asked from inside the Thunder Megazord.

"It's definitely worth a try," Shane said as his Hawk Zord was whipped around by a massive tentacle.

Several mechanical clanks and whirling sounds could be heard as the two smaller Zords began combining with the lager Megazord's arms. It wasn't much, but it gave the rangers the added power they needed. That is, until a giant gob of snot shot out of the monster's oversized nose, temporarily blinding the Megazord and leaving it open to being wrapped up in the monster's tentacles.

"We're being crushed like a soda can, bro," Blake commented.

"Tor, spray the thing and you'll get that gunk off and distract it," Shane suggested.

"Oh it," Tori agreed, spraying water from the mouth of her Dolphin Zord.

The creature stumbled backward and, the Megazord's view now clear, it took aim and shot lightning at the monster. Before the thing could recover, the Megazord used its opposite arm and attached Hawk Zord to shoot a ball of fire at the overgrown monster.

The battle wasn't over, but they had at least managed to turn the tables and that was defiantly something.

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Kelly was doing inventory, since the store was pretty much empty due to the fact that a rogue monster was attacking the city, when she looked up to see a group of what must have been the strangest customers she had yet encountered. And she dealt with extreme sports enthusiasts, so that was saying something.

Two of them had long hair (one cotton candy pink) and looked like hippies. In front of them was a small boy trying to wear a dog as a hat. Behind them stood a young woman who looked like she might be into hiking and maybe even had a legitimate reason to be there if not for the fact that next to her was an older Asian woman with two ginea pigs in robes, one on each of her shoulders.

"Can I… help you?" Kelly asked slowly.

The group then turned to look at the woman with fuzzy shoulder pads. But, she decided to turn to one of the guinea pigs. She opened her mouth, as if about to ask it a question before stopping herself. "We just needed a place to hide out," she finally said.

"Oh," Kelly replied, "from the monster. Doesn't one of you have a house?"

"It's in another dimension," Marah explained.

Kelly stared at her blankly.

"She means it was… crushed by the big alien out there," Cam's mother suggested.

"Alright," Kelly agreed, eying them suspiciously, "but you can only stay until the store closes. Then, all I can do is recommend a good hotel."

"Thank you," Skyla said, obviously sincerely meaning it.

Kelly led the group over to an alcove with seats and a television.

"Do you get the sewing channel?" Kapri asked.

Kelly stared at her. "This is an extreme sports store. We get extreme sports channels."

"I didn't know you took up sewing," Marah cooed.

"I just started," Kapri explained excitedly.

"We should sew something together!" Marah announced.

"At least they're not singing," grumpy Sensei mumbled before stopping himself.

Kelly stared at the robed guinea pigs. She could have sworn that one talked. Shaking off the event, she turned to leave her guests. "If you need something, I'll be doing inventory."

"She seems nice," Skyla commented.

"Oh, yeah, super nice," Marah agreed. "Kind of like these seats. Aren't they super comfortable?"

"Yeah, they are. They're totally groovy!" Kapri agreed happily as Geo set Destiny on the seat while he sat on the floor.

"I know I'm not supposed to talk," grumpy Sensei said quietly, "but can I at least blast them with a fireball?"

"Self control is prudent at this time," Sensei told him.

"Yeah, good luck with that lasting," Cam's mother commented.

Kelly passed by again, staring suspiciously at the motionless guinea pigs in robes. "Did I…" she began before stopping herself. "Nevermind." She then walked off again.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Marah asked Kapri.

"Unicorn quilt!" Kapri declared.

"And it will have a rainbow," Marah added.

"Of course!" Kapri agreed. "Like in the song The Happy Unicorn."

"The happy unicorn, prancing and dancing, happy happy unicorn," Marah began to sing. "Ah! My hair's on fire!"

"Those aren't the lyrics," Kapri complained.

"No, my hair's really on fire!" Marah explained.

Cam's mother and Sensei looked at grumpy Sensei. "What?" he asked. "Like you didn't want to do the same thing?"

The two chose to remain silent, instead turning back to watch as Geo looked around for some water. When he didn't find any, he climbed up onto the seat, stood on his toes and held Destiny over Marah's head. "Come on, Destiny!" he urged. "Pee on Marah!"

Skyla decided to help, but quickly found she had no idea how to put out a fire. "I'm sorry," she offered sheepishly.

"Is something burning?" Kelly's voice asked At first, she thought the hippies might be smoking marijuana due to the unusual odor, but instead she found one of the two hippies on fire. Acting quickly, she grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed Marah down.

Marah stared at her damaged hair. "You think Tobi can fix this?" she asked.

"I hope so!" Kapri agreed.

Just then, Destiny finally peed on Marah.

Kelly put the fire extinguisher back and walked off to get a mop and some air freshener, mumbling to herself, "Dustin, you better have a good excuse this time. 'I forgot' ain't gonna cut it, not today." She then began spraying the room with air freshener and handed one of the groups' member's the mop. She then went back to doing her inventory, trying to ignore the one she handed the mop to asking what it was and what to do with it.

* * *

Dustin, Circuit and a morphed Cam entered Ninja Ops together and looked around. The other Cam was no longer in the main room. "He's looking for popcorn," Dustin whispered.

"Do you think you can take him on your own while I check on my computer?" Cam asked.

"Of course!" Dustin assured him. "Besides, Circuit'll help."

"I'd rather have him keep a lookout," Cam replied.

"I can do that," Circuit agreed.

"I'll set your communications frequency to my morpher," Cam told the mechanical moth. "Also, I want to add an EM disruptor I built."

"I can't seem to find my back panel release," Circuit commented.

"You're in a new body," Cam explained. "You know as much as I do about it. We'll figure this out together. Dustin," he began, turning around. Unfortunately, Dustin was gone.

* * *

Dustin found the other Cam in a small storage room and tried to use ninja stealth to sneak up on him, but Cam just turned around, smiling and clearly happy to see Dustin. "How much popcorn you think we need?"

"Uh," Dustin mumbled.

"I'm thinking a bag each just to be safe," Cam said. "Can't have too much popcorn."

Dustin nodded. After all, there really was no such thing as too much popcorn.

"And lots of butter," Cam added.

"Totally," Dustin agreed. "It's not popcorn without the butter."

"True dat," Cam replied, grinning.

The moment Cam turned back around, Dustin decided to grab him from behind.

As Dustin wrapped his arms around Cam, though, this very different Cam just gave him a surprised grin. "I didn't think I was your type, D-Man."

Dustin froze, puzzled.

"You're kinda cute, for a dude," that Cam continued, "but I prefer babes. Like Tori, she's totally babalicious."

By this point, Dustin had unknowingly almost completely released his grip on Cam.

His loose hold allowed Cam to spin around and face Dustin. "Well, let's get this over with, I guess," he told Dustin.

"Get what over with?" Dustin asked.

"The sex, man," Cam replied. "It's all about sex, isn't it? I mean, no way we're getting serious."

"Uh, yeah, no way," Dustin mumbled, blinking as Cam began stripping. "Wait! No!" he said, shaking off his confusion. "I, uh…" He looked around for something to tie Cam up with. Spotting some rope, he grabbed it.

"Oh, bondage," Cam realized. "I'm down with that."

Dustin grimaced before tying an all too willing Cam up.

* * *

Back in the main room of Ninja Ops, this dimension's Cam removed his helmet and set it next to the computer as he glanced over at Dustin reentering the room. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"Uh, next time maybe you should tie him up," Dustin replied.

Cam gave him an odd look before turning back to his computer. "Okay," he said slowly. "Anyway, it looks like Tobi's distraction is working." The screen displayed the Phoenix Zord spinning around the two Megazords.

"I knew he could do it," Dustin commented, "but why doesn't he take them down? When it was a Dragon Zord, it was super tough." On the screen, the Phoenix Zord's wings began to glow with flames as it flew near the Megazords' feet, trying to trip them.

"Despite what they did and how they treated him, I think he still cares about the friends and the sister he grew up with," Cam suggested.

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. "You think he still likes… the other me?"

Cam looked at Dustin. "No, Dustin," he assured him, "I don't. At most, he might not hate him, but he loves you. Trust me, I know this for a fact."

Dustin gave him a surprised look. "How do you know?" he asked.

Cam tried to suppress a sigh. "I know more about love than you probably think. I'm not… heartless."

"Dude, I always knew you cared," Dustin told him. "You just don't like to show it."

"Maybe I don't know how," he mumbled to himself.

Dustin leaned over and hugged him. "I'll teach you," Dustin promised.

Cam flushed and fidgeted. "Um, the others could use my help with Lothor's monster."

Dustin released his grip. "Is it safe to leave Ninja Ops since I still can't morph?"

"I've created a numeric access code," Cam explained. "Besides, it doesn't look like the other versions of us know about the Samurai Star Megazord, probably because my counterpart doesn't have a Zord back in the other dimension. I'll be able to remotely monitor Ninja Ops from my Zord."

"Oh, that's cool," Dustin commented.

"How securely did you tie up the other me?" Cam asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Super tight, dude," Dustin replied. "I learned how to tie knots in summer camp one year and I got this awesome yellow path that said I was an expert at knot tying."

Cam started at him for a moment. "I'll take your word for that," he said, "since it looks like the other you permanently deleted the Cyber Dustin that I had running before we left and I'd feel safer if you bring the others from Storm Chargers to here. Plus, I have a feeling my cousins may already be driving Kelly crazy."

"Dude, what could they do in like half an hour?" Dustin asked seriously.

"Let's not think about that," Cam said, putting on this helmet and calling, "Follow me, Circuit."

Dustin shrugged before nodding. "Good luck, Cam!"

"Thanks," Cam replied as a door opened to the underwater Zord bay and he walked through it, Circuit hovering close behind.

Dustin then waved before leaving Ninja Ops.

* * *

Dustin entered Storm Chargers and looked around. The place was quiet and looked empty. "Marah?" he called out. "Kelly?"

"Dustin!" Kelly's voice cried as she emerged from the small lounge area holding a map and wearing gloves. "Where have you been?"

Dustin grinned, nervously running a hand through his hair and trying to come up with an explanation more believable than being thrown into another dimension, battling evil Power Rangers, meeting alien Power Rangers and using a Zord belonging to a big gay butterfly to get back.

She just stood there, arms crossed, and waited.

"Sorry, Kell," was what he finally said.

"That's it?" she asked, an unexpected edge in her voice. "Dustin, you know you're more than just an employee to me. You're like a little brother. But I am still your boss and you're not making this easy for me. Anyone else would have fired you the first few times you disappeared without an explanation." She stared up at him with piercing yet concerned eyes while he fidgeted nervously. "Dustin, is there something you want to tell me, something that I need to know to make me okay with you, Hunter and Blake's vanishing acts?"

"Uh," Dustin fumbled nervously. "I really wish I could tell you, Kell. Really, I do."

She watched the emotions playing out in his eyes. He wasn't lying to her. That much she knew, but he still wasn't being completely honest with her. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

His fidgeting arm movements became more pronounced. "I trust you, Kell. You know I think you're an awesome boss, but…" The look in his eyes was truly pained. "I… can't tell you."

She looked down, sighing. "Fine then," she mumbled. "You can get started helping me clean up. You wouldn't believe the customers I had earlier."

Dustin looked around. "Yeah, where'd they go?"

"I had to kick them out," she explained. "When one of them wanted a cup so she could… _make_ milk, that was the last straw." She cringed, leaning against the mop's handle. "That was after their dog peed on the floor and one caught on fire. I swear they even had talking… nevermind."

Dustin's eyes went wide.

"With the strange things I see on a semi regular basis, sometimes I think it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you and your friends were the Power Rangers," she commented.

Dustin's eyes darted around nervously before he forced a laugh. "You think _I_ could be a Power Ranger?"

"You underestimate yourself, Dustin," she replied. "I think you'd make a good Power Ranger. The yellow one, of course."

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled. "So, where'd the customers you talked about go?"

She looked at him oddly. "I don't know." She paused. "You don't… know them, do you?"

"Yeah, sorta," he admitted.

"Dustin, I don't want to tell you who you should choose as friends, but—" she began.

"Sorry, Kell, but I gotta find them," Dustin interrupted, spinning in his tracks and running out the door.

"Dustin!" she called after him. When it was clear he wasn't returning, she groaned loudly, staring at the mop in her hands. "Should I fire him?" she asked it. She looked up, rolling her eyes. "I'm talking to a mop. That's it, I need a vacation."

* * *

Tobi was flying his Phoenix Zord around the two Megazords when the two massive machines both paused in their failed attempt to bring his Zord down. As he made another pass, he noticed a figure appear on top of the Wind Megazord. It was the red ranger, his dimension's Shane.

Tobi set his Zord into a hover mode and hesitantly climbed out, standing on the surface of his Zord.

"What's the deal?" his dimension's Shane called out. "Who are you and why are you here?"

Tobi paused. He couldn't say that he was just there to distract them because that would mean the distraction would be over pretty quickly.

At that moment, his dimension's Hunter emerged from the Thunder Megazord. "Maybe he's just here for the same reason we are," he suggested.

"Come on, gold ranger," Shane growled. "Why you here?"

"I'm here… to bring you down," Tobi finally said. It was certainly what he felt like he should be doing anyway.

The two shades of red rangers began laughing hysterically. "Oh, that's a good one!" Hunter laughed.

Suddenly Tobi's sister emerged next to Shane. "I recognize that voice," she accused. "Tobi?"

"No way is that your bro," Hunter immediately argued. "He's messing with us."

Tobi fumbled around until he found how to open his visor. "It's me, Tobi," he told his sister.

Then the other Blake appeared next to his brother. "Looks like you got played, Tori," he called. "You do have a twin bro in this dimension too."

"And he's the Gold Power Ranger," another voice said. Tobi turned to see the Dustin he grew up with standing next to his sister and Shane atop the Wind Megazord. "He's got a tough Zord too," Dustin added, nodding approvingly, "fast, maneuverable, thick armor."

"Told you you'd like it here," Hunter called over to Dustin.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. With his visor closed, it was hard to read his emotions.

"And, if this Tobi was on the outs with the other rangers here, then he must be cool," Blake concluded.

"My brother's a Power Ranger," Tori told him. "Of course he's cool."

"Thanks, Tori," Tobi called, "but the reason his dimension is better than the other is that it's protected by good Power Rangers, rangers that don't fight each other while an alien attacks the city."

"We're just having fun," Hunter explained.

"And Lothor's toys don't mess with us," Shane added.

"Who's side are you on?" Blake asked.

"I'm on the side of… my friends," Tobi answered.

"We trapped your friends back in our old dimension," so you're all alone," Shane pointed out.

"You're wrong about that," Tobi told him. "They're back and so am I."

"What do you mean, so are you?" Tori asked her brother.

"I'm the Tobi you all teased and picked on, the Tobi you called a wimp," he explained. "You thought I was helpless and… so did I. But, not anymore. Now I'm the Tobi who became a ninja and a Power Ranger and even defeated Zordon. And I'm the Tobi who's going to help you stop being punks. I'm going to help you change, like I did."

"Help us!" Blake mocked.

"He can't be my brother, the same…" Tori mumbled.

"Like that wimp could defeat Zordon," Shane told her.

"Forget that," Dustin interrupted, drawing their attention back to the city. "At least one part of what he said was true. We're not the only Power Rangers here. Look."

The others turned to see the Samurai Star Megazord joining the other Zords that were attacking the giant monster. "We have to get back to Ninja Ops!" Shane shouted.

"Shane's right," Dustin said quickly. "Leave the Zords."

As the rangers near Tobi streaked off, his sister lingered for a moment longer while he raised his morpher and called, "Cam, the distraction's over. They're headed for Ninja Ops now! Watch out!"

"Thanks, Tobi," Cam's voice answered. "I'm sealing it remotely, but Dustin's still down there. He's bringing the others from Storm Chargers."

"I'm on it!" Tobi replied, looking up and noticing his sister still watching him from atop the Megazord.

A sudden explosion drew his attention to the distance, where this dimension's Power Rangers had apparently just destroyed the enlarged alien. "Dustin?" he called into this morpher.

"I'm here," Dustin's voice greeted him.

"Where are you?" Tobi asked.

"I'm between Storm Chargers and the woods and…" His voice trailed off for a moment. "I kinda lost Sensei, Marah and the others."

"You… _lost_ them?" Tobi repeated.

"Yeah," Dustin admitted. "Kelly kicked them out and they're just… gone."

"I'll help you look," Tobi offered, "but first the other Power Rangers are going to try to get into Ninja Ops and our friends are going to try to stop them, meaning I'm headed there."

"I'll meet you there,' Dustin immediately offered.

"No," Tobi insisted. "I… don't want you hurt. Since I'm morphed, I'll be okay, but I'd feel better if you were safe."

"I get it, dude, but you know you need Awesome Dude," Dustin argued. "And I worry about you too. You've got my back and I've got yours too."

"Alright," Tobi relented, a smile curling up on his lips, "but stay with the others behind me."

"Sounds like a plan!" Dustin agreed. "See you there. I love you, TZT!"

"I love you too, Dustin," Tobi said softly, then lowering his wrist. When he looked up, his sister was still watching him. "I know what you're wondering," he told her, "and I'm still your brother, but I'm not the same person I used to be." He then streaked down toward the ground.

* * *

By the time this dimension's Power Rangers and Tobi passed through the waterfall portal to the remains of the Wind Ninja Academy, the other dimension's Power Rangers, all morphed, were waiting for them. They were standing over the hatch leading down into Ninja Ops and their Dustin looked like he was working on a way to crack whatever security this dimension's Cam had managed to put in place.

Tobi's sister, still morphed, emerged from the portal behind him and watched as Tobi stood protectively in front of his unmorphed friends. "If you're still my brother, you'll join us," she told him.

Tobi looked to the unmorphed Tori before turning back to his sister. "I'm standing by my friends."

He sister sighed. "One thing hasn't changed. You're as stubborn as ever. You betrayed me then and you're just doing it again."

"I just know what's right," he told her. "Maybe I always did."

She looked to her morphed counterparts and shrugged. Tobi noticed the morphed Dustin clench his fists.

"Looks like a repeat of last time," the morphed Hunter said with a smirk.

"We're morphed, you're not," the morphed Shane added.

"One of us is morphed," the unmorphed Shane pointed out.

"And he can take all of you by himself," a voice announced as Tobi turned to see Dustin exit the portal. Before Dustin had a chance to react, Tobi's sister grabbed him, her morphed body easily overpowering him.

"Let him go," Tobi ordered through clenched teeth.

"I just want you to be honest with me, little brother," his sister told him.

"I won't lie to you," Tobi growled. "Just let him go! Dustin, are you okay?" he asked in a much gentler tone.

"Yeah, TZT, I'm fine," he grunted out. It was obvious that the grip around him was too tight, though.

"Why did you have to come back?" she asked her brother. "You're obviously happy with _them_. And I meant it when I said I wanted you to be happy."

"We couldn't let you and this dimension's Lothor destroy the place," he explained. "How is what you're doing any better than what Zordon did?"

"We're nothing like _those_ Power Rangers," the morphed Shane growled.

"Yeah, we're just having fun," the morphed Blake added.

"That's why you were secretly making Zords," Tobi realized, looking at the morphed Dustin, "for fun?"

"I don't expect you to understand, Tobs," that Dustin replied.

"You were working on making Zords?" Tobi's sister asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I told him our parents were giving us Zords," the morphed Hunter explained. "We thought we could have some fun."

"That was supposed to be a secret," the morphed Blake told his brother.

"I have my reasons for telling Dustin," his brother replied with a smile toward the morphed Dustin.

"Did any of you even _think_ about using our Zords to take down Lothor's monster?" the unmorphed Shane asked.

The morphed rangers looked at each other.

"I expected more from you," Tobi mumbled, watching the morphed Dustin. "Or maybe I just hoped for more."

The morphed Dustin just stared back at Tobi from behind his helmet.

"So, Tobi," his sister spoke up, "maybe it's time for you to finally tell him how you feel. But which Dustin do you _love_?"

"I knew he was a faggot," the morphed Shane commented.

Tobi felt a defensive surge run through him. He felt nervous admitting his feelings outloud to the rangers he grew up with, whereas he felt fine admitting his feelings to this dimension's rangers, even though he hadn't known them as long. Maybe it's because they never teased or made fun of him. But, when he looked into the caramel brown eyes of the Dustin in his sister's grip, he didn't feel any hesitation in admitting, "I love the Dustin you're holding."

"So, after all these years, you can finally let the truth come out," she said, "but it looks like those feelings you hid changed… just like you."

"Not really," Tobi explained. "There was always something about Dustin." His eyes wandered to the morphed Dustin near the entrance to Ninja Ops, "but it was always missing something. It was… incomplete. With this Dustin," he said, gesturing to the Dustin in his sister's arms, "it finally felt right. From the very first moment I met him, I knew this was the Dustin I always loved."

His sister watched him for a moment longer until the morphed Dustin interrupted her. "Are you still with us, Tori?" he asked in a sharp tone.

She suddenly released the unmorphed Dustin and tossed him toward her brother. "Yeah, I'm still with you," she answered. "Let's take them down," she added, but most of the force was gone from her voice.

"This'll be fun!" the morphed Blake cheered.

"Not much of a fair fight," the morphed Shane commented. "The only morphed one is a wimp."

Tobi held Dustin protectively behind him. "You've all called me that for long enough!" he shouted.

"Only because it was true, Tobs," the morphed Dustin commented, taking up a fighting stance. "Let's see if that's changed." He then dove toward Tobi and, at the last minute, disappeared into the ground in front of him before emerging behind him.

Tobi was prepared and send a wave of energy out from his body, sending the morphed Dustin skidding across the dirt.

The morphed Shane couldn't hold himself back from joining in and ran toward Tobi, who just jumped up, watching Shane pass below him before kicking Shane into the dirt near the morphed Dustin.

"Alright!"the morphed Hunter said excitedly.

"Don't go all gold on me, bro," the morphed Blake warned.

"Gotta respect awesome when you see it," the morphed Hunter told him.

"I see it every day in the mirror!" the morphed Blake replied, earning him both a laugh and a high five from his brother before the two attacked Tobi, kicking from each side.

Meanwhile, Tobi's sister turned to the unmorphed Blake, who promptly took up a fighting stance. "You wouldn't want to hurt me, would you?" she mocked. "Not after what we did together." She looked over to the unmorphed Tori and let out a short laugh.

"You came between me and the girl I… care about," he told the morphed Tori.

"I just gave you what you wanted," she told him. "Don't tell me you didn't like it."

Blake hesitated. "Yeah, I liked it," he admitted, "but I thought…"

"You thought what?" she asked.

"I thought it was more than just sex," he finished.

It was her turn to hesitate. "I was just getting off, just like you."

"Not just like me," he argued. "There's more to a relationship than sex."

"Since when?" she asked, diving toward him. Her kick was stopped by her unmorphed counterpart.

"Mind if I cut in?" the unmorphed Tori asked Blake.

"Yeah, we got your back, bro," Hunter added, joining his brother and Tori.

"I like these odds," the morphed Tori declared. "Shall we?"

"Let's," the unmorphed Tori agreed, sidestepping to avoid a kick before landing one of her own. The two unmorphed thunder brothers quickly joined the fight, but, against a morphed body, their attacks had little effect.

Nearby, a morphed Dustin approached his unmorphed counterpart. "I bet you go down easy, loverboy," he accused, springing toward the unmorphed Dustin.

"Not gonna happen, dude," the unmorphed Dustin replied, jumping aside.

"Dustin!" Tobi called out, knocking the morphed thunder brothers over with a wave of energy. "I think it's time we teach these guys how to surf the way I told you. They might have thick heads, though, so we'll have to pound the lesson into them."

"Oh, I'm with you," Dustin realized.

Suddenly small slabs of earth rose up underneath each of the morphed rangers and, as the earth moved beneath them, it was like they were surfing on the dirt. Of course, they ended up surfing right into each other, their morphed bodies colliding with such force that it sent them sprawling out in the moving dirt.

"Now I'm just mad!" the morphed Shane growled, getting up.

Tobi used a wave of energy to keep them down against the dirt.

"I hate to take away your opportunity to get even with your old friends," a voice interrupted, "but I think it's time we evened the odds." Tobi looked over to see the still morphed Cam and Circuit emerge from the nearby portal.

"Getting even?" Tobi mumbled. Is that what he was doing?

"Circuit, now," Cam called and the mechanical moth hovered over the group and emitted a flash of light. Suddenly every ranger, including Tobi and Cam demorphed.

"What happened?" Tobi asked.

"It's an electromagnetic field destabilization pulse set specifically to temporarily disable the morphers," Cam explained. "I figured it might come in handy, especially since only I know how to fix the morphers."

"Good thinking, Cam," the unmorphed Shane congratulated.

"Now that things are even, I see someone I want to take down," Hunter commented to his brother while gesturing toward his previously morphed counterpart.

"You put yourself down too much, bro," Blake told him.

"You're reading way too much into this," Hunter warned.

"Like with ice cream flavors?" Blake suggested.

"Yeah, just like that," Hunter agreed before the two took on their counterparts.

"Aren't we missing our Cam?" Tobi's sister asked her friends as she dodged an attack from this dimension's Tori.

"He's a little tied up right now," this dimension's Dustin commented as he landed a kick directly in the chest of his no longer morphed counterpart.

Tobi leaned over his dimension's Shane after having just knocked him to the ground yet again. "So, do you still think I'm a wimp?" he asked.

Rather than answer, Shane suddenly kicked Tobi off of him and into the two Dustins.

"Are you okay?" Tobi asked the nearby Dustin.

"I'm fine," Dustin answered coldly, glaring at him.

Tobi quickly turned to the other Dustin. He must have momentarily gotten them mixed up.

"I'm fine too, TZT," the other answered.

Tobi turned back to the first Dustin. "Why didn't you ever tell me you liked me?"

"Who says I like you?" Dustin replied.

"You had a Cyber version of me that you were having sex with," Tobi told him. "You said you knew how I felt about you, so that could have been me, the real me."

The Dustin in front of him's cheeks flushed. "I… I never felt anything for you," he quickly stammered out. "It was just sex. I didn't want the… complications."

"He didn't want to be made fun of," the other Dustin spoke up, "then he'd be treated like you were."

"That's it, isn't it?" Tobi realized. "You saw how I was treated and you didn't want to be put through that. Everyone likes you and thinks you're cool and you were afraid to lose that."

"I'm not a coward!" the Dustin in front of him snapped.

"I never thought you were…" Tobi mumbled. "I guess I was wrong. I wanted to see something in you that wasn't there. At least now I found it." He glanced back at this dimension's Dustin.

"I had to go back for my robot," the Dustin in front of him suddenly whispered to himself.

"You what?" Tobi asked, but before he could receive an answer, a pair of voices echoed through the battlefield.

"Enough!" the voices called authoritatively. The fighting paused as the group turned to see Cam's mother with the two Sensei's, one on each shoulder. Beside her was Skyla and Geo as well as Marah and Kapri. That is, two Marah and Kapris. The evil space ninja versions of the two girls were tied up and being held by the to hippy versions of them.

"Rangers—all rangers," Sensei addressed, "my fellow guinea pig has something to say."

"Here it comes," Cam's mother commented to herself.

"Quiet!' grumpy Sensei told her before addressing the others. "It seems that I was… wrong about… some things." His wife cleared her throat. "Alright, a lot of things," he admitted. "Obviously, Tobi is anything but weak and is not only a ninja but also a Power Ranger." He glanced at his wife. "Cam's mother and I are… working out our differences." She offered him a smile and he continued. "And Power Rangers should only use their powers for good."

"What a joke," the other dimension's Hunter laughed.

"I don't expect you Thunders to understand," grumpy Sensei continued, "but, Shane, surely you, a fellow air ninja can see the… errors of our old ways."

The other dimension's Shane crossed his arms before admitting, "Maybe, but it goes against everything you taught us."

"And it doesn't sound fun," the other dimension's Blake added.

"There is more to life than fun," Sensei offered.

"Maybe that's it," this dimension's Dustin suddenly suggested. He was standing over by the two Marah's, examining hippy Marah's hair. "Maybe they need like hobbies and stuff to blow off stress instead of like blowing stuff up."

"You think they just need _hobbies_?" this dimension's Blake asked questioningly.

"I was thinking of taking up skateboarding," the other dimension's Hunter spoke up.

"That's lame!" the other dimension's Shane argued. "Now, motocross, I think I can get into that."

This dimension's rangers exchanged looks.

"What's the deal with the two sets of Marah and Kapri?" the other dimension's Blake asked.

"Oh, they tried to kidnap us," hippy Marah explained.

"Skyla like warned us before they even attacked," hippy Kapri added. "I think she's psychic."

This dimension's Shane gave her a surprised look, a smile curling up on his face.

"I think it's just good hearing," Skyla suggested.

"Right," he said with an affectionate nod.

"What happened, Marah?" this dimension's Dustin asked hippy Marah, concerned.

"Oh, my hair caught on fire and then Kelly used a fire extinguisher on me and then Destiny urinated on me," she explained.

Dustin's eyes went wide, his nose crinkling.

"I only wanted Destiny to pee on her to put out the fire," Geo justified.

"Uh, right," Dustin mumbled.

"You know, maybe I'll cut my hair," Marah suggested, turning to Kapri.

"You can't!" Kapri argued. "You have beautiful hair!"

"Thank you, but I think I can pull off a shorter hair style," Marah said.

"That's true," Kapri agreed. "Look at the other you."

"Ew, short hair," space ninja Marah mumbled.

"Who'd have though we'd be beaten by ourselves?" space ninja Kapri asked.

"I did!" space ninja Marah replied. "See, I had this dream and I was literally beating myself up. Of course, that cute yellow ranger was in it and—Did you notice there's two of him now? Maybe I'll have a chance with at least one."

"Shut up!" space ninja Kapri yelled.

"Hey! You can't talk to me that way," space ninja Marah protested. "Wait till I tell uncle on you!"

"Hello? We're tied up, remember?" space ninja Kapri pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," space ninja Marah realized.

"It's a good thing we're not annoying like these versions of us," hippy Marah commented.

"Yeah, they're nothing like us," hippy Kapri agreed.

"I like us just the way we are," hippy Marah declared.

"So do I!" hippy Kapri agreed happily.

The two then held hands and danced around.

"I think I'm going to be sick," grumpy Sensei complained.

"Control yourself, Kanoi," his wife warned. "For your students, at least."

"Oh, yeah, them," grumpy Sensei replied, mumbling, "Ingrates."

Just then, the hatch to Ninja Ops opened and the obviously untied Cam peaked out. "Yo, D-Man, where'd you go?"

"I thought you were an expert knot tier," this dimension's Cam told Dustin.

"Maybe he got a patch for being an expert knot untier," Dustin suggested.

The other Dustin seized that opportunity to streak past the emerging clueless Cam and down into Ninja Ops, sealing the hatch behind him.

"D-Man, what're you doing?" clueless Cam asked.

This dimension's Cam sighed. "Circuit, summon my Zord remotely. I'll control Ninja Ops from in it."

But, as the green Samurai Zord flew overhead, it started firing down on them.

"That was fast," Cam cried, rolling aside. "He's already cracked the code and I left the Samurai Zord configuration program open."

"Dude, why's the other me so pissed?" Dustin asked as he launched a chunk of earth toward the Zord.

"Cam, how much do you like your Zord?" Tobi asked, raising his hands and projecting an energy barrier.

"That's not the only problem," this dimension's Shane called.

Nearby, the Wind Megazord and Thunder Megazord landed with a strong vibrating thump and began stomping closer.

"Time to cut our losses and bail," the other dimension's Blake told his brother.

The other dimension's Hunter grabbed his dimension's Cam by the arm. "Come on, Cam, we're out of here."

"Stop!" Tobi yelled just as his dimension's Shane blew out a gust of air, sending this dimension's rangers all tumbling over.

"Mom?" the other dimension's Cam asked as his dimension's Hunter drug him off.

Tobi's sister gave her brother one last look before disappearing into the portal with her friends.

"We have to go after them!" Tobi shouted.

"I need to get into Ninja Ops," Cam insisted as a barrage of attacks came from overhead.

Meanwhile, Tobi was doing his best to block the Zords' attacks while Dustin used large rocks to go on the offensive.

"I think he's trying to scare us away from Ops," Shane suggested while helping Skyla and the others up.

"Cam, we'll be back," Tori told him, pulling him toward the portal.

Cam just nodded as the group was forced to retreat.

"What's with this Dustin?" Hunter asked his brother.

"I think… he's jealous," Blake whispered back, gesturing toward the Dustin next to Tobi. "It makes people do stupid things."

Hunter gave his brother a slight glare.

"Just saying," Blake replied as they left with the others back through the portal.

"TZD is going down," Dustin said angrily as he and Tobi were the last two still on that side of the portal.

"We'll get him," Tobi told Dustin, trying to calm him with a pat.

"But he hurt you," Dustin told him.

"I know," Tobi replied, "but I don't think he did it on purpose. He just… doesn't know how to express his feelings."

"Do I?" Dustin asked, suddenly concerned.

Tobi smiled up at him. "Yeah, Dustin, you do. You have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met."

"Thanks, TZT," Dustin replied, kissing him on the lips before pulling away. "I know I hurt you too. I want to like make up for that."

"You already have, Dustin," Tobi assured him. "Trust me, you already have."

A nearby explosion brought them back to their departure. "Yeah, let's go," Dustin said, grabbing Dustin's hand.

The two then left through the portal and joined their friends.

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**_To be continued..._**

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**_Author's Note:_**_ For some reason, when I was doing this, the other Dustin ended up sort of the villain in here, but please feel free to throw out some ideas for what you want to see next. He just has some "issues" to work through. What would bond the two groups of rangers? Or should they be forced back to the other dimension? According to a previous poll, of the other Power Rangers, people only really wanted the other Dustin to stay. Then, after the following poll paired Tobi up with Dustin, I assumed that people wanted Hunter to end up with the other Dustin. However, as of when I am typing this, no one has voted in the poll for Hunter to end up with that Dustin. So, I'm playing out some ideas in my head, but I'm open to new ones._


	34. A Matter of Choice

_**LAST CHANCE: Who should Hunter end up with?**_ You can still vote in this poll, but it seems to be leaning heavily toward Cam. I suppose this makes sense if Dustin and Tobi end up together, Shane is with Skyla, Tori ends up staying with Blake and that leaves Cam and Hunter. But that means that all the alternative rangers including TZ Dustin go back to their own dimension… Anyway, as always, you can let your opinions know by reviewing, but this chapter is already influenced by my analysis of the poll.

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**_**_Author's Notes: _**_This chapter takes place during the episode Eye of the Storm, which is the episode that follows Double Edged Blake (the last episode before the rangers left their dimension), **but** it only loosely follows the episode. Okay, so it has the monster Eyzak and Shane's brother Porter and that's about it. The rest I was forced to change in order to incorporate the other rangers. I'm thinking of doing this for the two parter that follows (General Deceptions) as well. If you have some thoughts on this, let me know._

_Anyway, this chapter tries to incorporate more emotion and action than humor and I'd like to know what you think of Tobi meeting Tori's parents. And, since this is Power Rangers after all, I'm once again trying to get in practice with action scenes, even though I still don't feel completely comfortable with them. Let me know if the symultaneous action is clear and understandable... or not. Knowing specifically which part was unclear helps too!  
_

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Review Comments:**_

_Thanks **Ruon jian** for an incredibly helpful review! No, no, I'm not referring to the Dustin sandwich (I think you have been reading too much Dustin in Heat). I mean, the specifics of how people bond. You'll notice that your idea of the two Shane's bonding over Porter appears in here, but I figured that it would feel rushed if I had everyone bond completely in one chapter. And, I'm saving the other Dustin turning good because I really want to figure something else out besides two Dustin's sharing Tobi (though, I'll admit the whole Dustin sandwich idea is tempting…)._

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for your constant reviews of all my stories! You're still the only one who's reviewed my story Dustin's First Crush (hint, hint to anyone else reading this). I'm guessing that you would agree with Ruon jian and want a Dustin sandwich as well. Either way, there's not that much double Dustin in here, but I'll throw something into the next chapter. And, I guess we'll see if there's a Dustin sandwich outside Dustin in Heat…_

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for saying that the battle scenes and emotional parts are amazing! It's good to know I've succeeded. And I really like you're suggestion about Tobi's sister saying she loves him and is proud of him, so I'm going to do that in the next chapter (since things don't all get resolved at once in this chapter). And, regarding Hunter, it looks like reviewers are leaning heavily toward paring Hunter up with Cam (see note at the top of this page). So… there's some Hunter/Cam stuff thrown in here, but most will be saved for later (on the off chance that the poll suddenly shifts). I haven't really made any final decisions on who stays and who goes, so we'll see what happens. And poor Kelly! She may be a patient boss, but some things just cross the line…_

_Thanks **megsjedi**for both your reviews as well as your help and advice in other areas! I'm glad that I was able to create a realistic character in Tobi. I think some of the things he goes through (the less ridiculous stuff) are things I really relate to. And you're not the only one who thinks Cam and Hunter should pair up, so there's a little taste of something in this chapter. As for TZD, his character is going to have to be resolved in the next chapter along with TZT, but thanks for the thoughts on who to send back, since I've had conflicting poll results on this. I have an idea in mind about the two sets of Marah and Kapris, but I won't reveal it yet (even though you could probably guess it given enough time). And, lastly, I'm glad that you consider me one of the few male writers you like. I really don't like using violence in any form unless it's absolutely necessary to furthering the story and even then I try to dwell on the drama of it rather than gore. As for sex, I don't take it that seriously for some reason, so I poke fun at it all the time._

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for declaring my last chapter both awesome and beautiful work! Now, as for evil Dustin, I'm not sure as of this moment what will happen to him, but I plan to resolve his character in the next chapter. I don't know if you have to feel sorry for the evil Power Rangers, so it's fine if you don't know how you should feel. Just because someone has a troubled past doesn't excuse their present actions, but I do plan to (eventually) resolve things between all the rangers and probably send some back… And, yes, I suppose a guy named Tobi is nothing compared to some of the weird aliens the rangers encounter. I seem to recall a big foot attacking them at some point…_

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**The rangers return to their dimension to discover that Geo, Marah and Kapri have followed them. While the non-rangers go to Storm Chargers and make Kelly's day worse, Tobi takes on his dimension's rangers as they Zord battle "for fun." Meanwhile, Cam, Dustin and Circuit take back Ninja Ops while the others take on Lothor's enlarged monster. Afterward, the rangers face off against their morphed counterparts and gold ranger Tobi confesses to his sister and former friends that he loves Dustin, but not the Dustin he grew up with. That Dustin seals himself in Ninja Ops and uses remotely controlled Zords to scare the others off. While the rangers retreat, their evil counterparts escape...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 34 (A Matter of Choice)**

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The group of rangers and refugees stood across the water from the waterfall portal that led back to the remains of the Wind Ninja Academy grounds where Ninja Ops was located.

"Is there another way into Ninja Ops?" Shane asked as he made sure Skyla was alright.

"There is," Cam replied, staring at the water. "There's an underwater entrance to the Zord bay. Normally I'd just morph since the suit is waterproof and has an independent oxygen supply, but I'm afraid the other Dustin would be able to detect me coming."

"Plus, didn't you say only you can fix our morphers after that EM pulse?" Hunter pointed out.

"Actually, I only said that so the other rangers wouldn't simply destroy Circuit," Cam admitted. "Circuit was projecting an electromagnetic disruption field. The morphers should work fine now that Circuit's no longer projecting the field."

"Really?" the others replied, surprised.

"Cam, I had no idea you could be so… crafty," Tori commented.

"Uh, thanks," Cam mumbled.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Dustin shouted and, for the first time since he lost the ability in the other dimension, he morphed. "Awesome!" he cheered, studying his suit. "I _so_ missed this."

Tobi leaned back, giving Dustin's butt a glance. "So did I." He offered Dustin a smile. "Now we're both Power Rangers."

"Yeah!" Dustin agreed, doing a little dance. He grabbed Tobi's hands and began dancing with him. Tobi could do little more than follow Dustin's crazy movements and laugh.

"Should the rest of us morph?" Shane asked Sensei.

"It may be prudent to check on your families," Sensei advised. "With your counterparts still loose and with unknown motives, they may prove a risk to those you care about."

"Our families are also probably worried about us," Tori suggested.

"Yeah," Dustin realized. "I bet my mom's like freaked."

"But what about them?" Shane asked, gesturing toward the members of their group who weren't rangers.

"Blake and Hunter will remain behind," Sensei concluded.

"Since our parents are dead in this dimension and there's no one to take hostage…" Hunter commented, mostly to himself.

"It is an unfortunate fact that may serve us well in our present circumstances, Hunter," Sensei replied.

Tori patted Hunter's arm. "They're always with you."

"Yeah," Hunter mumbled, glancing at Skyla, even though she could no longer see his parents now that she was human.

Blake rubbed his brother's shoulder and gestured to their morphers. The two then called, "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!"

"How will you get into this Ninja Ops place if it's underwater?" Marah asked.

Cam glanced at the others. "Anyone have any scuba gear?"

"Too bad we're not still in our dimension," Cam's mother commented. "Remember when we used to go scuba diving?"

"How can I forget?" grumpy Sensei replied. "You tried to drown me."

"It was all in good fun, Kanoi," she insisted.

"My dad used to take me diving," Tori spoke up. "I'll see if he still has his equipment."

"Thank you, Tori," Cam said sincerely as he stared at her just a little too long.

"Tobi, do you want to come with me?" she asked, turning to her brother.

"Me? Why?" he asked, confused.

She approached him and put an arm around his shoulder. "They're your family too," she said.

He gave her a surprised look.

"If you're my brother, you're my parents'—_our_ parents' son," she told him.

"Yeah, TZT," Dustin added. "You belong here, dude."

"Thanks, guys," Tobi told them, "but you guys are all the family I need."

Hunter approached Tobi. "Your mom's alive here," he said matter-of-factly. "You owe it to yourself to at least talk to her." He offered him a pat on the shoulder.

Cam looked at Hunter, a hint of surprise in his eyes as he approached Tobi. "I realize she may not be the same person you remember," he said, glancing at the living version of his mother before turning back to Tobi, "but Hunter's right. About a few things," he added, glancing at Hunter out of the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll go," Tobi told his sister.

"I guess I should like check on my family too," Dustin said, nodding while watching Tobi.

"Are you forgetting something?" Tori asked.

"What?" Dustin asked, confused.

"You can't go see them morphed," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah," he realized before powering down. "Aw," he whined.

"You're still Awesome Dude," Tobi reminded him.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed before listing off his goodbyes. "See you Shane! See you Tori! See you Hunter! See you Cam! See you Blake! See you Marah! See you Geodude! See you Kapri! And Destiny! And Skyla and other Marah and Kapri and Cam's mom and Senseis!" He paused. "And, see you, TZT."

"Yeah," Tobi replied, staring up at Dustin. "Maybe we'll get some ice cream after this whole thing's resolved."

"I'd like that," he told him, running a hand carelessly through Tobi's hair. "Too bad there's no pizza ice cream here."

"Oh yeah," Tobi mumbled, frowning.

"It's cool, dude," Dustin assured him with an encouraging grin. "It's not the flavor, it's the company."

Tori and Blake exchanged looks.

"And maybe we could taste… other flavors sometime too," Dustin said with a chuckle as he gestured down with his eyes.

"I bet you taste good," Tobi breathed.

"'Course I do," Dustin replied. "I'm Awesome Dude!"

Tobi laughed. "Totally," he agreed. "I'm glad you're the Dustin I ended up with."

"I'm glad you ended up with me too, dude," Dustin told him. "Have fun meeting your parents, TZT," he added, raising his hand for a high five. "That means I love you," he reminded him. After their hands met, he let their fingers intertwine and held Tobi's hand for a moment. "You know, you have really soft hands for a dude."

"Uh, thanks," Tobi replied, blushing.

"Bye, TZT!" Dustin finished, releasing his hand.

"I love you too, Dustin!" Tobi called as Dustin left, Dustin's eyes watching Tobi as he went.

"We'll be back soon," Tori said, turning back to the others.

"Yeah, see you blueberry," Blake called.

Tori paused, looking at the navy ranger. "It's not the flavor, it's the company," she said, repeating Dustin's words.

Tobi gave his sister a confused look as she then leaned up, giving the side of each of the brothers' helmets a quick kiss. After that, she turned back to Tobi and the two left.

Shane turned to Skyla. "I guess I'll be back soon," he told her. "I'm just gonna check on my family."

"I understand," she assured him, giving him a hopeful look.

He could see in her eyes what she was thinking and he leaned forward. But, just before meeting her lips, he decided to give gave her a kiss on her cheek. As she blushed, he remembered why he wanted to take things slow with her. She had an almost innocent quality, but also seemed to radiate some hidden strength that she herself wasn't even aware of.

And, using that hidden strength, Skyla shifted her position so that she could kiss him on the lips. He was surprised at first, but then he gave in until she pulled away, a satisfied grin on her face. "I've never kissed anyone before," she admitted. "It was nice."

Shane just nodded, catching his breath as if he'd just run around in circles. Composing himself, he said, "See you soon. I love you, Skyla."

"I love you too!" she called, waving as he left and the others exchanged looks.

"Were you really going to enter Ninja Ops by yourself?" Hunter asked, turning to Cam.

"It would reduce the risk of being detected," Cam replied, trying to sound casual as he glanced between Hunter and his brother.

"Maybe you should like let one of us come with you, cousin," hippy Kapri suggested.

"I'll be okay," Cam assured them. "Though, Circuit, do you know if you're water proof?"

"I don't know, Cam," Circuit replied, "but I can find out." The mechanical moth then flew over to the water.

"Circuit, wait!" Cam shouted just as—dunk!—Circuit sank into the water.

"You might want to work on its risk programing," Blake suggested. "If it comes back up, that is."

Just then, Circuit reemerged from the water, flying over to Cam. "Yes, I'm waterproof," it announced.

"Circuit, please don't do something like that again," Cam warned.

"Why not?" Circuit asked. "It was the only logical way to find out if this body is water proof."

"Ah, logic," Hunter commented with a grin. "You should appreciate that."

Cam gave him a slight glare before shaking his head.

"Cam, what did you mean when you said I was right about a few things?" Hunter asked.

"Oh," Cam mumbled, glancing toward his father. "I just mean, about my… interests," he whispered.

Hunter smiled and told him, "Welcome to the club. I think it's good you came around because it opens the door to more… possibilities, if you catch my drift." He gave him a wink.

Cam blinked at him before looking at Blake as the brother stared off in the direction that Tori had gone. "The only possibility I want is the same one you and your brother want," he explained.

Hunter glanced at his brother. "Tori," he realized, turning back to Cam. "Her and Blake are meant to be, even if she doesn't realize it. I think that particular door has closed… for both of us."

"For me, it was never open," Cam sighed.

"Cam, you deserve to be happy," Hunter told him, "no matter what _kind_ of person you end up with."

"So, you're saying anyone will do?" Cam asked.

Hunter shook his head. "I don't want you to settle, Cam. You deserve more than that. I mean, you're smart, kind and… sensitive."

"Uh, thanks," Cam replied, his cheeks involuntarily flushing as he stared just a little too long at Hunter.

"You think our Cam feels as unloved and unwanted?" Cam's mother asked her husband.

"I didn't always treat him well and you left him," grumpy Sensei replied.

"I left _you_," she corrected.

"I don't think he knows the difference," he commented. "I sure didn't and he's a little on the slow side."

"Unlike, you?" she asked sarcastically before suggesting, "Maybe we should tell him."

"Agreed," he replied before speaking up. "We're going to look for our son. We have some… things to say to him."

"He's probably with the others," Cam warned, turning from Hunter. "It wouldn't be safe."

"We're ninjas," Cam's mother replied. "We can handle ourselves."

"Neither of you can morph and one of you is a guinea pig," Cam pointed out.

Grumpy Sensei somersaulted onto Cam's shoulder. "Cam, we have to do this," he told him before whispering, "Just make sure those girls stay out of trouble." He gesturned toward the pair of Marah and Kapris. "I know, good luck with that!"

Cam glanced over at his father, who nodded. "Alright," he relented, turning back to grumpy Sensei, "but be careful."

"Do you want one of us to go with them?" Blake asked.

"Please," Cam said, an earnestness in his eyes.

"I'll stay here with the others, bro," Hunter said as Blake nodded and followed Cam's mother with grumpy Sensei on her shoulder.

Once they were gone, Hunter turned to Cam. "I know she's not really your mom, but you still worry about her, don't you?"

"I worry about them both, actually," Cam replied. "I care about a lot of people."

"You probably think that should surprise me," Hunter commented, "but it doesn't."

Cam just gave him a quizzical look.

"I wonder," Hunter continued.

"What?" Cam prompted.

"Why you always caved so easily when it came to me, like when I wanted to know where Tobi was after he spent the night with Dustin," Hunter explained.

"I could simply… understand your concern is all," Cam defended.

"And the other times?" Hunter added with a smirk.

"You're my friend, end of story," Cam replied.

"Uh huh," Hunter mumbled, chuckling softly to himself as Cam glared at him.

Meanwhile, hippy Marah and Kapri took to singing in order to keep their space ninja captives entertained.

"We don't sound that bad, do we?" space ninja Marah asked her sister.

"Some of us do," space ninja Kapri replied.

Just then, Destiny began to howl along with the singing.

"I'm thinking Blake got the better deal on this one," Hunter commented, closing his visor and covering the sides of his helmet, as if that would block out the noise. Cam glanced between his cousins and Hunter. This time it was Cam's turn to smirk.

* * *

Tobi and Tori arrived at the house that Tobi had unknowingly wandered to the morning that he overheard Dustin choose Hunter and a feeling of uneasiness came over him. "Tori, I know you're doing this for me," he began, "but they don't know me and… knowing that makes it hurt."

Tori gave him a sympathetic look. "You don't have to see them if you don't want, but this is my home and… I want it to be yours too."

"You want me to live with you?" he asked.

"It would be like your sleepover idea," she suggested, "but I won't use sleeping pills this time."

"Thanks, Tori," he told her, giving her a hug. "You know, when you were being controlled by Mindzine and we were in the training room, I thought about how much better things would have turned out if I was born here. You'd be my sister, my real sister."

"I would have liked that," she replied, "but it's not too late."

"What will you tell your—_our_ parents?" he asked.

"That you're my twin brother from a parallel dimension?" she suggested.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like they'll buy that."

Just then, the front door opened.

"Tori!" a girl who looked like a younger version of Tori greeted. "Are you gonna freak out and run away again?"

"What are you talking about?" Tori asked.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You saw mom and you freaked out," she said flatly.

Tobi looked at Tori. "My sister," he whispered. "She must have come here too while we were…"

Tori nodded before introducing, "Tobi, this is my sister, Ali. Ali, Tobi."

Tobi looked at Tori with wide eyes. "You have a sister?"

"You don't?" Tori asked, surprised. "I mean, besides… her?"

Tobi shook his head. "Our—my dad always said there were too many mouths to feed as is."

"Ah," Tori realized.

"You two look just like twins," Ali commented.

Both Tori and Tobi looked at each other at the same time.

"Uh, how would you like to have a brother, Ali?" Tori asked hesitantly.

"That'd be cool," Ali said with a grin. "Why? Is he our new brother?"

"Maybe," Tori suggested, grinning nervously.

"Mom! Dad!" Ali shouted. "Tori's back and she brought a brother!"

The two exchanged horrified glances as their parents approached the door. Their mother was dressed casually and had her daughters' blonde hair. Their father looked like somewhat of a nerd, complete with glasses and pocket protector. As Tobi saw them, he felt something catch in his throat.

"Tori, we've been worried sick," their mother began. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom," Tori assured her.

"And what's this about you bringing home a boyfriend?" their father asked.

"Not a boyfriend, a brother!" Ali corrected. "Look." She pointed between the two.

Tobi felt nervous as he was examined by two people who looked just like his parents.

"I remember you," their mother told Tobi. "Didn't you say you were Tori's friend?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, blinking at the memory.

"But they're like total twins," Ali protested.

The two parents looked at each other, exchanging surprised glances.

Tobi turned to Tori. "I'm gonna go," he whispered, his lowered voice cracking.

"Tobi, don't," she urged, reaching out to stop him. With her hands still on his shoulders, she turned him to face their parents, took a breath and said, "Mom, dad, meet your son, my twin brother Tobi."

Their mother gave her a nervous look. "Um, Tobi, your twin brother, you say?"

"He's from… another dimension," Tori explained, hastily adding, "And, dad, do you still have your old scuba diving stuff? I need to borrow it."

"Yeah, it's in the attic," he replied, "near the old Slip and Slide I think. You know, scuba, Slip and Slide. The snorkeling gear would be after that."

"Thanks dad for being so organized," she said, giving him a quick hug. "I'll be right back," she added, running inside.

Tobi froze, staring at his parents.

"They do look just like twins," their mother whispered.

At first, their father gave his wife a confused look before realization dawned in his eyes. "Come inside… Tobi," he said, leading them into the living room.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ali asked, seeing the far away look in her mother's eyes.

"Why don't you go help your sister," their father advised.

Ali looked miffed but just shrugged, leaving them.

Once she was gone, their father turned to Tobi, his expression serious. "Tobi, this isn't a particularly good topic to joke about."

"This isn't a joke," Tobi replied, looking to their mother, concern in his eyes. "Mom… I mean… are you okay?"

She looked up at him and her eyes were shiny, so shiny in fact that he saw his own reflection. "You really do look just like her," she whispered, "just like he would have looked."

"He?" Tobi asked, confused.

When she seemed to become overwhelmed with emotions, her husband spoke up. "When my wife was pregnant with Tori, she was actually pregnant with… twins."

Tobi couldn't help but gasp.

"But there were complications," he continued. "Not both could survive, but the girl—Tori—had a better chance of survival, so we…" He removed his glasses, catching his breath. "We chose her and Tori was born. The boy… didn't survive."

Tobi just stood there, his mouth hanging open. "Does Tori know?" he asked.

"We never told her," their father replied, returning his glasses to his face. "We tried to put it behind us and, after Ali was born… and she was healthy, we moved on."

Their mother looked up. "She said you were from another planet?" she asked, her voice slightly horse.

"Another dimension," he corrected, staring at her.

She looked at him and he could read her expression. She wanted to believe him, but it was just too strange.

"You… I mean, my mom back in my dimension is… dead," he said slowly. "My sister… back in the other dimension… she had to choose who to save and she saved… me." He chocked and reached for his face, trying to wipe away the tears. "I know you don't know me, but… your daughter is like a sister—She _is_ a sister, and… I'm her brother. She wants me to live here, with you." When they didn't say anything, he continued. "I'm not trying to take the place of the son you lost. I just want…" he swallowed. "I want some place I belong."

He stood there, watching them as they looked at each other and then back to him.

"I'm sorry," he told them, turning to go. "I understand. I'll let myself out."

Suddenly their mother grabbed him, and in one sweeping movement she stopped him from leaving and pulled him toward her. He was caught by surprise as she began crying on his shoulder. "You would have been named Tobi too," she choked out and he heard the "you" instead of "_he_ would have been named Tobi."

He hugged her back, letting out the emotions that he had been trying to suppress. "I love you, mom."

"Tobi," his father whispered. "Your tears…"

Tobi opened his eyes, seeing that his tears were once again evaporating, but, as he pulled back, he noticed that his mother's tears were too."

She blinked, surprised. "That hasn't happened since I was a child," she whispered.

"Oh," he mumbled. "It started happening to me a few days ago."

She held him back a step from her so she could study his face. "I don't know how or why, but… you are my son."

He blinked heavily at her, feeling his father pat his back. He saw movement out of the corner of his eyes and he turned to see Tori standing and smiling at him, her arms full of scuba gear. Ali was beside her, watching with a confused look on her face.

"Girls," their father greeted, surprised to see them. "Uh, Tori, where are you going with all that?"

"I'm taking this to a friend of ours," she explained. "I'll have everything back when I'm done."

"We're leaving?" Tobi asked, turning to face her. At first, he didn't want to come, but now he didn't really want to leave.

She studied the expression in Tobi's eyes and glanced at their parents. "No, Tobi, you stay," she told him. "They're your family too now."

He just nodded, blinking.

"You know I love you guys, right?" Tori asked her parents.

"We know," her father replied. "And we love you too."

"Then do me a huge favor and treat my brother like your son because… like it or not, he's staying."

Their mother nodded, looking up at her husband.

Tori looked between the two adults. "You're not going to argue about it?" she asked, surprised.

"We trust you," her father replied. "And I've always wanted a son." Everyone looked at him. "What?" he asked.

"No, I get it," Tori said. "You treated me like a son sometimes when I was little. But… about the whole other dimension thing, I know it doesn't sound like—"

"We believe you, Tori," their mother said sincerely.

"Oh," she replied, surprised. "Um, good. Well, I… better go. Cam will be waiting." She slowly backed toward the door.

"Tell Cam good luck," Tobi told her. "And… thanks, Tori."

She smiled. "No problem. Anything for my brother, right?"

"Right," he agreed.

"See you soon," she said, leaving out the front door.

"He doesn't get my room, does he?" Ali spoke up. "Though, Tori got the van when she got her license and I just got my license, so… I get a new car if he gets my room. Deal?"

"We'll talk about that," their father said slowly.

"It's okay," Tobi told them. "I used to share a room with my sister back in my dimension. When we moved in with my dad after our mom died, I slept on the floor a lot."

His mother put a hand on his shoulder. "That won't be necessary." She turned to her husband. "We'll figure something out." She then turned back to Tobi, adding, "son."

"Thanks, mom," he said sincerely. He looked at the door, taking a breath. He really wished he had grown up here with this Tori, but, as he turned back to his parents, he felt that it wasn't too late. He may not have been born in this dimension, but he felt like he belonged here. He felt like he was _home_.

* * *

After Tori returned to the waterfall, she handed Cam her father's scuba gear.

"Where's Tobi?" Hunter asked, looking around.

"I left him with _our_ family," she replied. When she felt every eye staring at her, she added, "He chose us over his friends and his own sister. He's already a brother to me and… he's staying here, where he belongs. Besides, our parents seem to already like him."

"Dad?" Cam asked as he suited up.

"I had hoped to resolve the issues with our counterparts and return them to their dimension," Sensei began.

"But, Sensei, Tobi belongs—" Tori started to protest.

"Except for Tobi and Skyla," Sensei finished. "It would be… harmful to the team to separate them."

Tori and Hunter both offered him a smile.

"Plus, we could always use another Power Ranger," Cam added, his father nodding in agreement.

"What about us?" Marah asked, approaching while holding Destiny.

"I am uncertain," Sensei said, looking between the two sets of Marah and Kapris. "Skyla, may I speak with you?"

"Of course, Sensei," Skyla agreed.

Cam noticed Tori's confused expression. "Second opinion," he told her.

"Ah," she realized. "Oh, and Tobi says 'good luck.'"

"Thanks," Cam replied, now fully suited up. "Here," he said, handing her his Samurai Amulet. "I don't want the other Dustin to track my morpher either. I doubt he'll be looking for a robot moth, though."

"Is it time?" Circuit asked.

"It's time," Cam agreed.

"Cam, be careful," Tori told him, her voice full of concern.

"I will, Tori," he said, letting his hands hold Tori's upper arms. "So, uh, goodbye." He seemed to be waiting for something.

"You're coming back, right?" she asked hastily.

Cam lowered his arms. "Yes, I'm coming back," he replied coldly. "I just…"

Hunter leaned over, whispering something in her ear.

"Oh," she realized, hesitating before leaning up and kissing the side of Cam's scuba mask.

Cam's cheeks flushed and he smiled wide. "Thank you," he said before diving into the water.

"Thanks, Tor," Hunter told her once he was gone.

"For the kiss?" she asked, confused.

"He needed that," Hunter replied with a smile.

* * *

We're not going around in circles!" Grumpy Sensei protested as he, his wife and a morphed Blake wandered through Blue Bay Harbor.

"So there's really is a Starbucks on every corner?" she said doubtfully.

"Maybe," he replied.

Blake groaned. Hunter had definitely gotten the better end of this deal.

"Did you hear that?" grumpy Sensei suddenly asked.

"Yeah, it's the sound of you admitting we're lost," she replied.

Grumpy Sensei glared at his wife. "You're just lucky I love you so much."

"I love you too, but I'm not scared of a guinea pig," she told him.

"You should be," he said in a menacing tone. Well, at least his attempt at one.

Just then, someone ran past them, screaming.

"I told you I heard something," grumpy Sensei said.

"That's impressive ninja hearing you have," his wife commented, covering her ears as the screamer ran past them.

"Stay here," Blake told them. "I'll check it out." He then ran toward a commotion near the shopping district.

There were people running around in a panic and everyone seemed to be wearing these strange looking collars around their necks.

"I'd be screaming too if that was the latest fashion," grumpy Sensei commented.

Blake spun around to see the guinea pig and his wife. "I thought I told you to stay there."

"You did," Cam's mother replied. "And you seriously expected us to listen?"

Blake shook his head before turning back to the crowd. What he saw surprised him. The other dimension's rangers, all still unmorphed, were standing, facing Motodrone and some big eyed ugly alien with tentacles. "Seriously, where does Lothor find these things?" Blake mumbled to himself.

Someone ran past the other dimension's rangers, screaming, "The dogs! The dogs!"

"Does anyone see any dogs?" Cam asked, confused.

"Only that dog faced freak," Shane replied, gesturing toward the alien near Motodrone.

"I think he looks more like a fish, man," Cam commented, tilting his head.

"What's the deal?" Tori shouted.

"It does not concern you, rangers," Motodrone told them. "Lothor's arrangement is that you stay out of his way and he stays out of yours."

Then maybe you should step aside, because we're walking here," Blake quipped.

"Why do you defy Lothor?" Motodrone asked in a deep, gravely voice. "First you take down Nazol and now you get in my way."

"We didn't take down your overgrown snot factor," Shane replied. "That was the other Power Rangers. They're back."

"And they have help from… a gold ranger," Tori added, glancing at the others.

"Lothor will not be pleased," Motodrone said, "but I appreciate the information."

"Yeah, whatever," Shane told him before pausing, his eyes going wide.

"Bro, what's wrong?" Hunter asked Shane, concerned.

"Porter?" Shane whispered, approaching the crowd of fleeing humans. In it was a man in a suit, Shane's older brother Porter.

"Shane," Porter greeted quickly. "I was back in town and mom and dad said you were—"

He was cut off by Shane knocking him over just as the alien with Motodrone shot a beam toward them and a collar appeared on a woman directly behind where Porter had been only moments before. So the beams the alien was sending out were putting collars on people, Shane realized.

"Woah, what's with the freaky jewelry?" Cam asked.

"Eyezak can make people see what they most fear," Motodrone explained. "With the citizens of Blue Bay Harbor overcome with fear, they will be helpless to Lothor's conquest."

The other dimension's Shane felt himself being thrown off Porter and he looked up to see the red Power Ranger, this dimension's Shane. "Get off him!" the morphed Shane shouted at his counterpart.

"He was trying to help," Porter defended. "That _thing_ was about to attack me and _my brother_ saved me."

The morphed Shane glanced between his morphed counterpart and Porter before turning to face Motodrone and Eyezak. "What are you up to, Motodrone?" he called.

"I assume you are not one of our invited Power Rangers," Motodrone replied. "Allow me to help you face your fears. Eyezack!"

The morphed Shane dove out of the way before removing his sword and slashing at Eyezak.

Meanwhile, the unmorphed Shane looked at Porter. "Are you… okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Porter told him. "Thanks to my baby bro and the Power Rangers."

"You… like the Power Rangers?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, they protect the city from monsters like that one."

Shane looked from Porter over to his morphed counterpart attacking Eyezak. "Porter, get out of here," he said, turning back to his brother.

Porter nodded. "What about you?" he asked, starting to leave.

"I have some payback to dish out," Shane replied.

Porter gave him a confused look. "Be careful."

"Yeah," Shane said, running toward Motodrone.

The morphed Shane glanced from his attack on Eyezak over to see his morphed counterpart taking on Motodrone. The unmorphed Shane just nodded at him and they continued.

"Isn't this breaking our deal with Lothor?" the other dimension's Blake asked.

"I for one don't really care," the other dimension's Tori commented.

"Yeah, action time!" Cam cheered as the group began attacking the two aliens.

"Am I seeing things?" the morphed Blake asked Cam's mother and grumpy Sensei.

"Not unless we are too," Cam's mother replied just as Motodrone called out something and a dozen kelzaks appeared.

"They're attacking with… kelzaks?" grumpy Sensei asked. "What, were the kittens on strike?"

"As a guinea pig, are you still allergic to cats?" Cam's mother asked her husband.

"Mind if I join you?" the morphed Blake asked his unmorphed counterpart.

The other dimension's Blake immediately took up a fighting stance. "We're not on your side. We're just monster smacking."

"Sounds… fun," the morphed Blake offered.

"It is!" the other dimension's Hunter agreed, fighting a kelzak.

"We wouldn't mind a _temporary_ alliance," the other dimension's Tori told the two, causing the unmorphed Blake to shrug, turning back to the kelzaks.

"Why let the kids have all the fun?" grumpy Sensei told his wife. "After all, I tought them everything they know."

"There's a comforting thought," Cam's mother commented.

Grumpy Sensei just rolled his beady little eyes before jumping into the fight, his wife quickly joining him.

* * *

Cam emerged from underwater with Circuit to find himself in a damp cavern. He looked around as he removed his scuba gear and spotted his Dragonforce vehicle. "Circuit, scan the area for heat signatures," he whispered before climbing into the large green vehicle and digging around.

"The only heat signatures are from the electrical panels," Circuit told Cam as he emerged from the vehicle holding a green gun.

"Okay, be prepared to emit a general electromagnetic disruption field if I tell you," Cam advised as the two left the cavern and made their way across a much larger cavern. This was the main Zord bay and it was currently empty of Zords, making it look even bigger. "Now," he whispered as they neared a series of security cameras. After slipping past them, they entered an underground labyrinth and he told Circuit to stop projecting the EM disruption.

When they arrived at a panel, Cam pulled out a screwdriver and began unscrewing it. After making a few modifications, a series of red laser light appeared across the floor. Cam then hopped around, avoiding the lights as Circuit followed.

When the two finally made their way up to the back entrance into the main room of Ninja Ops, Cam raised his gun and motioned for Circuit to be quiet.

But, when he entered the room and looked around, he noticed it was empty. The computer monitor was still on and the main Zord bay was being displayed. Approaching the screen, he saw the Zords reentering the bay.

Just then, Circuit called out, "Look out Cam!"

Cam only had time to spin in his seat before he was knocked to the ground, the gun sliding across the floor. He looked up just as the other dimension's Dustin grabbed the gun, pointing it at him.

"Cam!" Circuit called, ramming its body into Dustin just as he fired, causing him to miss and hit the computer. When nothing happened to the computer, Dustin stared at the gun.

"It's just a stun gun," Cam explained quickly. "I had no intention of hurting you."

Dustin looked from the gun back to Cam. "I guess that'll have to do," he said, raising the gun.

"Now, Circuit!" Cam called just before Dustin could fire. The screen behind Cam flickered out as the gun also stopped working. "Dustin, you don't have to do this," he told the armed earth ninja. "I understand how you feel, but—"

"What could you possibly know about how I feel?" Dustin snapped.

"You waited too long to tell Tobi how you felt and, now that he knows, it's too late," Cam explained, "but it's possible that he was never meant for you." Cam sighed, unable to help thinking of himself and Tori and… Blake.

"He fell in love with someone who looks just like me," Dustin retorted. "What could you possibly know about that? I knew him more than just a week and a half like that dopey wannabe." He groaned before barking, "This conversation is over."

"Dustin, he still cares about you, even if he doesn't love you," Cam told him.

Dustin paused, thoughts racing through his mind.

"Even though you knew her longer—I mean him," Cam corrected, "you never really left yourself open to a relationship. The distance became so… _comfortable_. But, maybe there's someone meant for you too…" Cam adopted a far away look as he wondered this about himself.

The other Dustin remained silent.

"You don't have to do this," Cam repeated, slowly approaching Dustin and reaching for the gun.

"Yes… I do," Dustin said, his concentration returning as he backed away and then started running toward the Zord bay.

Cam immediately ran after him, Circuit following. "Circuit," Cam called. "Do you think you can emit a field strong enough to disable the Zords if we need to?"

"I won't know until I try, Cam," Circuit replied as the two entered the main Zord bay.

"Dustin, stop!" Cam called, running after Dustin just as he jumped toward the rock wall and vanished, using the power of earth to disappear into it.

Just as Cam stopped to catch his breath, the underground cavern began to collapse all around him, covering the Zords and blocking his escape.

* * *

"I guess it figures that you'd be into surfing too," Ali told Tobi as the two stood in Tori's room, "being twins and all."

Tobi looked away from the surfboard that decorated one of the light blue walls of his sister's room. There was something that had been bothering him. "Ali, what if I told you I'm… gay?" he asked slowly.

"Oh, I already guessed that," she replied.

He gave her a surprised look. "How do you think… _dad_ would react? Back in my dimension, my dad stopped… caring about me when my sister outed me."

"He'd be cool with it," she said with a shrug. "Our parents aren't uptight or anything."

Tobi smiled, looking around. Everything was so… _blue_.

"So, you have a boyfriend yet?" Ali asked suddenly.

"Uh, I guess so," he answered. Although they hadn't used the word, Tobi couldn't help but think of Dustin that way. "His name's Dustin."

"You don't mean Maya's brother Waldo, do you?" she asked, eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, why?" Tobi replied, confused.

She shrugged. "He's cute," she said. "Kinda an airhead sometimes, but I used to have a crush on him."

"You don't anymore?" Tobi asked nervously.

"Don't worry, brother," she said, patting his arm. "He's all yours."

As a grin spread over Tobi's face, a beeping sound came from his morpher.

"Hey, you have one of those cool watches just like Tori," Ali commented.

He gave her a confused look before raising his morpher. "Go ahead," he called. "I'm here."

"Tobi," Tori's voice came from his wrist, "a couple of Lothor's goons are attacking downtown in the shopping district."

"I'm on my way!" Tobi called, lowering his wrist. "I'll be back, Ali," he added, running out of the room and leaving his younger sister staring with her mouth hanging open, a surprised and confused look on her face.

* * *

When Tobi arrived downtown, he saw two versions of most of the rangers, only one of each version morphed. He ran up to the single Dustin, who was morphed and taking on a horde of kelzaks. "Who are we fighting?" Tobi asked him.

"Anyone who's not human?" Dustin suggested with a shrug as Tobi noticed the two Toris fighting alongside each other. The unmorphed Tori (presumably his sister) kept giving sideways glanced at the morphed Tori.

"So, how did this happen?" Tobi asked his unmorphed sister.

"Blame Motodrone," she replied. "It's temporary anyway."

Tobi jumped aside as Eyezak shot a beam out of its tentacled body. Instead of hitting him, the beam hit a kelzak, causing a collar to appear around its neck and making it squeal. "What are those things?" he asked before calling, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" and morphing.

"The collars make you see whatever you're most afraid of," the morphed Tori explained as Tobi jumped into action. She turned to her unmorphed counterpart. "And, despite what we've been through, I'm hoping this isn't temporary."

"Mom, look out!" the other dimension's Cam called as a beam shot toward his parents, but, as he flew between them and the beam, a collar appeared on him and he fell to the ground.

"Cam!" grumpy Sensei shouted, jumping down to his son. As he did, a beam hit him and collar appeared around him. But, due to his small size, he just climbed out of it. His wife bent down, also checking on their son as he screamed out about clowns attacking.

Meanwhile, unknown to the others, the other dimension's Dustin watched from behind a nearby series of bushes.

"TZT!" the morphed Dustin called, knocking Tobi out of the way of another blast.

"Thanks, Dustin," Tobi breathed, smiling from behind his helmet.

Suddenly the Dustin crouched over Tobi fell to the ground and cried out. It was then that Tobi saw the collar around Dustin's neck.

"Dustin!" he yelled, shaking him, but the only responses he received were wimpers.

Tobi looked up from Dustin toward Eyezak before running toward the alien, screaming out angrily.

Nearby, the other dimension's Hunter dove to protect the two Blake's before being collared himself and yelping.

"Everyone, get back!" the morphed Shane called. "I'm gonna use the battlizer on this creep."

As Shane started powering up, Eyezak shot a beam toward him, but Tobi had streaked between the two and raised his arms, deflecting the beam back at Eyezak. A collar suddenly appeared around the alien's bulbous neck.

"Thanks, Tobi," Shane called as armor formed on him and he hovered into the air.

The other dimension's unmorphed Shane stared in awe as his morphed counterpart blasted down a large stream of energy on Eyezak and Motodrone. When the morphed Shane landed, the two aliens were on the ground, smoking and writhing in pain. Motodrone pulled something from his cloak and began pressing buttons on it.

Suddenly Eyezak began to grow larger and larger, the collar around its neck snapping under the pressure of the size change.

"Cam, we need the Zords," Shane called into his morpher.

A beeping sound came from this dimension's morphed Tori and she demorphed and studied the Samurai Amulet in her possession. "He didn't take his amulet," she told Shane. "He was afraid the other Dustin might track him."

Tobi ran up to her. "We have to help Dustin and the others!" he insisted.

"I will see if I can reach them," a voice called and the others turned to see Sensei standing atop Skyla's shoulder as she approached. "Rangers, please distract Motodrone and the kelzacks while I meditate," Sensei continued.

The other dimension's rangers paused, looking between the two guinea pigs. "Do as he says," grumpy Sensei called from over his collared son as calm Sensei closed his eyes and concentrated on projecting his thoughts into the world the collars were creating.

Ariving with Skyla and Sensei was this dimension's morphed Hunter, who quickly joined the fight on the ground while the morphed Shane ran to protect Skyla as a kelzak was about to attack her from behind. But she just stepped aside at the last minute and the kelzak ended up punching a fellow kelzak in the chest. She seemed to almost predict their moves.

Overhead, Eyezak began to stomp through the city. "Cam's not here either?" the this dimension's morphed Hunter asked.

Tori shook her head. "He didn't come back while you were there?"

"No, he hasn't returned," Hunter said as she remorphed.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" she called. "Power of Water!"

Nearby, a series of voices echoed her calls and the others turned to see hippy Marah, Kapri, Geo and Destiny.

"Rainbow power!" Marah called.

"Unicorn power!" Kapri added.

"Chocolate power!" Geo declared.

"Woof!" Destiny finished.

"I told you guys to stay with the other Marah and Kapri," this dimension's morphed Hunter told them.

"We wanted to help!" Kapri explained as Marah blasted Motodrone back with a red beam. Her blast was followed by a series of small fireballs and she turned, surprised to see grumpy Sensei joining her.

"Tobi!" this dimension's Tori called as she ran to his side as he checked on Dustin.

"Sensei?" Dustin whispered.

"It's working!" Tobi declared, grabbing Dustin's gloved hand.

"Tobi," Tori said, grabbing his shoulders. "Look!" Tobi turned his head to see Eyezak stomping toward residential neighborhoods. "It's heading to _our_ house."

Tobi looked from Dustin back to the giant monster.

"Tobi, you have a Zord," she told him. "It's up to you."

Tobi nodded, giving Dustin one last look. "Take care of Dustin," he said before streaking toward the massive Eyezak.

Behind the this dimension's morphed Tori, Tobi's sister furrowed her brow in concentration.

Just as Tobi left, Dustin shouted, "TZT!" and looked around.

"He's going after Lothor's monster," Tori told him.

"But I didn't tell him I love him," Dustin whispered.

"I'm pretty sure he already knows," she replied. "You say it often enough, now at least."

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled, looking around some more. "You know what the collar made me see?"

"Well, you're afraid of heights, being so far from earth and all," she suggested, "so you were falling?"

He shook his head. "No," he disagreed. "I thought I lost TZT… again."

"Oh," she whispered, looking up at Eyezak.

* * *

As Tobi streaked around Eyezak's dragging tentacles, he saw Ali standing outside their house staring up at the alien. "Ali!" he called.

As he did so, their parents emerged from the house, also calling for their daughter.

"Mom, dad, run!" Tobi shouted, streaking between the tentacle alien and their house.

"Tobi?" their mother gasped, staring at the Gold Power Ranger.

"My brother's a Power Ranger?" Ali shouted. "How cool is that?"

Tobi spun in his tracks, facing the alien and aiming his palms up. Focusing, he sent a wave of force out from under Eyezak, sending the enormous alien flying high up into the air.

He ignored the gasps of amazement from his new family and just streaked to the edge of the city, where his Zord was.

He held the force barrier in his mind as he streaked up to his Phoenix Zord and entered the Zord's cockpit. He found it easier to control the energy while he was morphed. Or, maybe it was just because of what the alien did to Dustin.

Zoom! The gold Phoenix Zord shot across the sky, its wings burning with flames as it circled the still hovering Eyezak. Tobi pressed one button after another on his panel as the alien shot beams out of its eyes toward Tobi's Zord.

The Phoenix Zord rocked in the sky, but Tobi remained in control until…

Suddenly, the massive alien's nose (really the whole front of its face) opened and Tobi's Zord was sucked inside the alien. He instantly found his Zord's viewscreen covered in glowing blue and clear goo. Reaching for his controls, he also found he was unable to maneuver.

Looking around his cockpit, he noticed a hand shaped panel to his right and he placed his palm on its surface. As he touched the panel, he felt an awareness of the outer surface of his Zord and he grinned. "You won't make anyone suffer ever again," he growled, concentrating.

The outer surface of his Zord, still burried inside the massive Eyezak, glowed as an energy barrier built up around the Zord.

Boom! Just then, the alien blew up from the inside and Tobi shot his Zord out of the exploding debris before concentrating on containing the blast. As he contracted an energy bubble around the destroyed Eyezak so that nothing would reach the city, the alien literally imploded into... nothing.

* * *

Down on the ground, all the collars dissolved, freeing everyone. Seeing this, Motodrone made a hasty retreat, the remaining kelzaks also vanishing.

This dimension's morphed Tori looked up at the flash in the sky. "I knew he could do—" She was cut off as a green beam hit her and she fell over.

A second beam hit the morphed Dustin under her and he fell unconscious just as the other dimension's Dustin streaked over and grabbed his unconscious counterpart.

"Dustin, don't!" Tobi's unmorphed sister called just as her dimension's Dustin streaked away with his prisoner.

Tobi streaked out of his Zord and down to the unconscious Tori's side. "What did you do to my sister?" he snapped at his sister.

"I didn't do anything," she defended. "And I thought _I_ was your sister, little brother."

"Where's Dustin?" he asked, looking around.

"The smart Dustin, _our_ Dustin," she clarified, "took him."

Tobi immediately raised his wrist. "Cam, Dustin's been kidnapped! Can you track him?" After a moment of silence, he called again. "Cam?"

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but looked up to see a morphed Hunter looking at him, his visor open. "I think Cam's in trouble too," he said slowly, the concern in Tobi's eyes reflecting in his own.

"Don't worry," Cam's mother said, approaching with grumpy Sensei and their son. "We'll help."

"We'll all help," grumpy Sensei added.

_**

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To be continued...**_

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Author's Note:**__ So, the two Dustin's get a chance to talk, but what will happen next? And what about Cam? Will the other dimension's rangers put aside their differences to help? The drama continues next time in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm!_


	35. Dustins, Death and Deception

**New Poll: **_**Besides Shane and Skyla, what pairing combination do you want to see in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? **_This gives you the chance to pick your favorite pairings and a runner up. If you don't see the combination you want, you can always let me know through reviewing. And, Shane/Skyla is a given because I want to keep Skyla. If you have some thoughts on this, though, let me know.

**LAST POLL RESULTS: **_Who should Hunter end up with? _And the winner is… **Cam**! Coming in second is Tori and tied for third are TZDustin and Blake. So, you'd think there'd be more Hunter/Cam in here, but it's pretty mild because this chapter is mostly about Tobi and the Dustins. Also, who knows, maybe people will change their minds once they see the new poll. By having complete pairing combinations, you can see who the others would end up with when you pick a Hunter pairing.

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Check out my other story ****Dustin's First Crush**** for plenty of young Dustin angst!**

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_Warning: _**_This chapter contains some violence, blood and death._

_**Author's Note: **This chapter takes place instead of the events that unfold in the two-part episode General Deception, which is the episode after Eye of the Storm. I've learned my lesson from the last chapter and I think I see what works and what doesn't. To sum that up, less action (since it tends to be confusing), more explanation (to make things clear), and lots of drama (and there definitely is plenty in here!). Humor will return in a future chapter. This one's… serious. Don't hate me. Actually, I guess you can hate me if you want._

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Review Comments:**_

_Thanks **Ghostwriter** for the review and compliment! As for Circuit dunking in Time Force and Jen doing a face-palm, I can see that too! I was wanting to actually do a Ninja Storm and Time Force teamup, but I'm thinking it would complicate things too much to have it in this story. So, I put it on the back burner. I liked Time Force and it would be nice to write something_

_Thanks **ken627**for your enthusiasm and for also being the first person ever to review my story! How far this story has come since then. Back then, you supported Tobi/Dustin even when the majority of readers ended up voting for Hunter/Dustin. Now, apparently people's opinions have changed and, since you always wanted Hunter/Cam, you may just get your wish! Oh, and I can't answer any of your questions without spoiling the story. So, instead, you'll have to read this chapter to find out how Cam gets free, if Hunter is involved in his rescue, what happens to Dustin and if the other rangers will help. The question I can answer is that, unless the new poll I put up changes things, Cam and Hunter will end up together._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for your neverending encouragement! I didn't really want to do Hunter/Cam, so I created the new poll with complete couple pairings. However, if even that pairs up Hunter/Cam, at least Tori will have Blake. I guess it would also make things simpler (not having two Hunters or two Dustins or two Toris). But, if you recall, people originally voted for Hunter/Dustin, so I paired them up and then they changed their mind later. So, yeah, you never know… Sorry, I'm just trying to be helpful here. And, as for the other dimension's rangers, I honestly haven't given it much thought yet. I was kind of assuming that not all would go back, but now I'm not sure… Anyway, as for Tori being the best sister ever, that's actually why I came up with the whole twins idea in the first place. Who wouldn't want Tori to be their sister? That would be awesome! And I have to apologize in advance for this chapter. Without spoiling the chapter, I'll just say that it's… emotionally intense._

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for pointing out that the last chapter was confusing! Of course, without being more specific, I can only assume you mean the action sense near the end. I've tried to avoid those kinds of action scenes in this chapter (and probably from now on) since they seem to end up confusing. Let me know if everything makes sense in this chapter. And, feel free to read the summary of the last chapter below. Also, special thanks for your continued reviews for my other story Dustin's First Crush._

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for the praise and support! I needed it, since I've been feeling a bit down lately. And, in keeping with you deciding you feel sorry for the evil rangers, I've tried to make them a little less evil in this chapter. That's to say that I try to reveal a little of their humanity. What happens with them is still up in the air right now, though. As for needing extra love, that made me realize that, at some point, I'm going to have to pick pairings for the other dimension's rangers too. Well, maybe anyway. And I'm glad that you for one liked the chapter about Tobi's past, because it plays a role in here. I have a special author's note at the end too. Oh, and my parents are crazy about Stargate, but I honestly never got into it, so (in my uneducated opinion), I think Cha-ka sounds like a giant puffball that eats people and Tyzonn sounds like the knight that defeats it. Did I mention I don't watch Stargate?_

_And, **Ruon jian**, since you had those straightforward suggestions for how the two teams would bond, which gave me so many ideas, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on pairing combinations as well as what I ask after the author's note at the end of this chapter._

_I miss **Magichalo**'s reviews. They were always so thorough and helpful._

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Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Tori introduces Tobi to her family and says he's a part of it. As Tobi bonds with his new family, Cam sneaks into Ninja Ops only to be ambushed by the other dimension's Dustin, who escapes and causes the Zord bay to collapse on both the Zords and Cam. Downtown, Motodrone uses the alien Eyezak to put collars on people that make them see their biggest fears. Both dimension's rangers form a temporary alliance after the other dimension's Shane meets Porter. When Eyezak is enlarged and threatens Tobi's new house, he takes on the alien alone with his Phoenix Zord and defeats it. Down on the ground, the other dimension's Dustin kidnaps this dimension's Dustin and Cam's mother and grumpy Sensei promise to help both Dustin and Cam...**_

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Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 35 (Dustins, Death and Deception)**

* * *

Lothor paced back and forth on the bridge of his space fortress. "Where are those girls?" he asked outloud.

Just then, Zurgane entered the room, grumbling to himself something about Vexacus being a traitor.

"Ah, General Zurgane," Lothor greeted pleasantly.

"What is it, sir?" Zurgane asked, suddenly standing at attention.

"It seems Motodrone has failed me, but he did manage to supply me with a bit of useful information," Lothor began.

"What's that, sir?" Zurgane asked.

"Our goodie goodie Power Rangers somehow made it back to this dimension," Lothor explained. "No doubt my overthinking nephew is to blame. But, besides that, they now have a _gold_ ranger."

"Another ranger?" Zurgane asked, surprised.

"I know, when will they run out of colors?" Lothor replied before throwing Zurgane a friendly grin. "You know, you've always been my favorite general."

"Thank you, sir," Zurgane replied.

Lothor wave a hand dismissively. "It seems my nieces have disappeared," he continued. "No doubt they're in trouble and I want you to find them."

"Sir, surely Choobo—" Zurgane started to protest.

"That's not all I want you to do for me," Lothor added. "The other dimension's Power Rangers have joined forces with their returned former enemies and, in the process, betrayed me, so I feel like returning the favor." He approached Zurgane and patted him on his oversized shoulder pads. "Two of them are separated from the others," He waved his arms. "Some yellow ranger squabbling. You know how it goes."

"Uh, of course, sir," Zurgane mumbled.

"I want you to kill one of them," Lothor instructed, "but just one. And, make sure it is _this_ dimension's yellow ranger."

"Why not destroy both yellow rangers?" Zurgane asked, puzzled.

"The other dimension's yellow ranger is clever, like my nephew," Lothor explained, "but, unlike my nephew, he may actually be convinced to join me."

"I understand, sir," Zurgane nodded.

"And, if nothing else, it will crush their new gold ranger," Lothor added with a grin. "When he realized his beloved yellow ranger is dead, his defenses will fall and you'll make sure he falls along with them."

"Kill the good yellow ranger and the gold ranger," Zurgane listed off. "Anything else, sir?"

"Yes," Lothor agreed. "Make sure my nieces aren't up to something."

"And, if they have turned against you like the other rangers?" Zurgane asked.

Lothor approached him, a menacing look on his masked face. "Remember this, Zurgane: Family is very important to me. No matter what they've done, you will return them to me."

"Yes, sir," Zurgane replied, snapping his feet together in a salute and turning in his tracks.

Lothor then resumed his pacing.

* * *

Dustin awoke to find that he was no longer morphed. Looking around, he was in some sort of a cave. Given the damp sea smell, he knew he must be near the ocean. Also, given the fact that he couldn't move, he figured he was tied up. But who had kidnapped him and why?

Just then, another Dustin entered his view. The other Dustin was holding a morpher in his hand while wearing another on his wrist. He had Dustin's morpher.

"TZD, I should have known," Dustin greeted quickly. "Dude, what do you want with me?" he asked, feeling for a weakness in whatever type of knots were holding him.

The other Dustin dangled the morpher in his fingers back and forth. "I just wanted… to talk," he said calmly.

"And you like had to take me here to talk?" Dustin asked doubtfully.

The other Dustin paced. "I didn't want any… interruptions."

"You gotta know they'll find me," Dustin told his captor.

"I'm hoping this won't take long," the other Dustin explained.

"When I get free, you're gonna pay, TZT," Dustin declared.

"For capturing you?" the other Dustin asked. "I've done a lot worse." He stared off toward the cave wall for a moment.

"Yeah, you hurt TZT," Dustin said. "That's what you'll pay for."

The other Dustin turned back to his prisoner. "You really care about Tobi, don't you?"

"I love him!" Dustin declared.

The other Dustin visibly cringed. "When did you fall in love with Tobi? You only met him a week and a half ago."

Dustin fumbled with the ropes binding him before he realized that he was surrounded by dirt and rock. He could try to escape, but the other Dustin also had the power of earth and he wouldn't get far. So, he decided to bide his time and wait until he saw his opportunity. "I felt… something when I first met him," he told the other Dustin. "I trusted him and I liked how much he was like me but also totally TZT. But…" He looked down, embarrassed. "I chose Hunter."

"You like Hunter?" the other Dustin asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, and like he had a crush on me for a long time but never told me," Dustin explained.

"Ah," the other Dustin mumbled, thinking.

"I also liked Marah," Dustin continued.

"Marah?" the other Dustin repeated.

"The not evil space ninja one," Dustin clarified. "She's cuter as a human."

The other Dustin just nodded.

"But, yeah, I chose Hunter," Dustin continued, "'cause like it make sense and all and Hunter's hot, but… When TZT died, I freaked out. I thought he was the one person I couldn't love but he helped me see he's the one person I love the most." He smiled at the memory. "He's so awesome. He became a ninja and a Power Ranger and he's as smart as Cam and as cool as Hunter, but also super caring and honest and a little crazy like me and…" He cocked his head to the side. "I love him a lot."

The other Dustin was quiet as he thought. "So, you were never afraid of what the others would think of you?"

Dustin gave him a confused look. "Dude, they're my friends and I'm even goofier than TZT."

"TZT?" the other Dustin repeated. "Why do you call him that?"

"Twilight Zone Tobi," Dustin explained.

"TZD, Twilight Zone Dustin," the other Dustin realized. "I guess we both had nicknames for him. I called him Tobs. But… I couldn't let myself get too close."

"Maybe 'cause you always need to like be in control, dude," Dustin suggested, gesturing to his tied up state. "Like now. Don't you ever just _let_ anything happen?"

The other Dustin pondered this for a moment. "No," he admitted. "You've got an advantage in that area, I guess."

"I was afraid too," Dustin admitted, watching his counterpart closely.

The other Dustin looked up, suddenly curious.

"I didn't want to be like… totally weird," Dustin continued. "I didn't even want to like guys. I just wanted to like girls. At least, if I _had_ to like anyone. I mean, like like them. Aw, man, it's all so confusing."

The other Dustin just nodded.

"But, like, I didn't have a choice," Dustin added. "And I think I was afraid of…" He scrunched up his face, concentrating.

"Commitment?" the other Dustin offered.

"Yeah, that," Dustin agreed, nodding with an appreciative smile. "But I decided I was more afraid of loosing TZT."

"And I was more afraid of the commitment, so I lost him," the other Dustin concluded to himself, turning to face away from Dustin.

"TZD, do you love TZT?" Dustin asked curiously.

The other Dustin took a breath, still facing away from him. "I don't know," he answered before turning back around. "He said he thought he loved me before he met you. Did he ever talk to you about… me?"

Dustin did his best to shrug even though he was tied up. "He said he had a crush on you. I had crushes before too. They're different than love and TZT said he loves me."

"But does he really?" the other Dustin asked quickly.

"'Course," Dustin replied. "TZT wouldn't lie to me."

"Right," the other Dustin mumbled. "Maybe your TZT isn't the same as the Tobs I knew."

"What do you mean?" Dustin asked.

"He changed," the other Dustin explained. "He pretended to be tough when inside he was afraid. Now he's a Power Ranger and he doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. I don't blame you for falling in love with Tobs… now that he's no longer the Tobi I knew."

"But there was always something about him," Dustin disagreed. "I think that's why I always felt a connection to him. I felt something, like who he _could_ be before he was. Even when I chose Hunter, it hurt me so much to let TZT—or Tobs go. I think I always love him. Maybe he doesn't act the same, but he's still the same TZT I love. He's like… a flower that bloomed." He couldn't help but laugh at that analogy.

The other Dustin sighed. "I have a confession to make," he said slowly.

Dustin looked at him with curious eyes.

"I didn't just bring you hear to talk," the other Dustin admitted. "A part of me wanted to trade places with you."

"Oh," Dustin realized. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

The other Dustin gave him a confused look. "Uh, yeah," he agreed, "but I can't replace you because I'm not like you." He sighed again. "Do you make him… happy?" He looked away suddenly as he asked this.

"Yeah," Dustin admitted. "I can like see it in his eyes. He has amazing eyes. And he makes me like supper awesome happy dude."

The other Dustin didn't say anything. He just stared off until a sudden sound interrupted the two Dustins. They looked over to see…

"Zurgane?" the other Dustin snapped. "What're you doing here?"

"Your friends have betrayed Lothor," Zurgane said, entering the cave. "I came for your prisoner."

"Too bad he's not for sale," the other Dustin replied.

"Then allow me to eliminate him for you," Zurgane offered.

"No!" the other Dustin called just as Zurgane fired.

* * *

Cam coughed as he tried to move. There was rocks and dirt all around him except for his head, but he couldn't see a thing. It was only the weight and feel that made it clear what he was buried under.

"Circuit!" he called out.

"I'm here, Cam," Circuit's voice replied. It sounded like the mechanical moth was directly overhead.

"I'm stuck," Cam continued. "Can you go get help?"

"I can't move from here," Circuit replied.

"Are you stuck too?" Cam asked.

"No," Circuit replied.

"If it's because you're programing won't let you abandon—" Cam began.

"If I move, the layer of rock I'm supporting will crush you," Circuit explained.

Cam paused. "Oh, well, then I appreciate you staying where you are," he said, again trying to move.

"Don't move around," Circuit warned. "You're shifting the rock."

"Sorry," Cam mumbled, sighing. "Can you transmit a distress signal?"

"My primary communication system is not working," Circuit replied. "It might be the rock or the repeated EM use."

"Oh, I didn't consider that," Cam mumbled. "This was pretty foolish, wasn't it? Here I am without the ability to morph or call for help."

"You did what you thought would have the highest probability of success," Circuit told him.

"I would never have asked anyone else to take this kind of risk," Cam explained. "Why did I do it myself?"

"I don't know, Cam," Circuit replied. "I'll search my memory."

"That's not necessary, Circuit," Cam said. "I was just talking to myself."

"Then you don't want to hear my conclusion?" Circuit asked.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," Cam offered.

"You care more about others than you do about yourself," Circuit concluded.

"Oh," Cam replied. "So, I'm not just a grump?"

"No, you're not," Circuit assured him. "Except about yourself. Maybe you need someone else to tell you they care about you."

"Thanks for you honesty, Circuit," Cam said before realizing something. "Goldwinger said he'd be able to keep in touch with us using you. Can you contact Goldwinger?"

"I think so, but isn't Goldwinger in another dimension?" Circuit asked.

"Yes, but I have an idea," Cam replied.

* * *

"Ow!" space ninja Kapri screamed. "What, are you trying to burn my hands off?"

"I thought I was trying to free us," space ninja Marah said as she burned through the knots binding the two together using her fire ability. Snap! "There!" she shouted, her hands now free.

"Now untie me!" Kapri demanded.

"Only if you promise to stop being mean to me," Marah said, pouting.

Kapri groaned loudly. "Just untie me before the others come back."

"I don't feel like it," Marah protested.

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat and set me free!" Kapri yelled.

"No!" Marah replied, crossing her arms.

"Fine!" Kapri grumbled. "We'll go shopping together or something."

Marah's expression immediately changed. "Really?" She then began untying her sister. That is, until she felt someone grab her. At first, she just tried to brush the hand away. "What?" she asked, looking around to see hippy Marah and Kapri standing over her.

"Do I get to blast them for trying to escape?" grumpy Sensei asked as he stood atop his wife's shoulder, their son following them.

"But, Sensei, if we're all Lothor's nieces and Lothor's your brother, aren't we all, including them, part of your family too?" hippy Marah suggested.

Grumpy Sensei paused.

Cam's mother looked at her husband. "You made Kanoi speechless," she said. "It's a miracle!"

"Yo, dad, so _they're_ like family?" the other dimension's Cam asked his father.

"I suppose so," grumpy Sensei admitted. "Take your pick which two you want."

His son then began deliberating between the two pairs. "You like popcorn?"

"Only if it's not from a giant pig," space ninja Kapri said, cringing at the memory.

"With lots of butter!" space ninja Marah cheered.

"Have you guys tried popped soybeans?" hippy Marah asked. "They're like popcorn, but healthier."

Cam made a disgusted face.

Meanwhile, Tobi turned to his sister from his dimension as the group of multidimensional rangers approached the waterfall portal. "So, now that Eyezak is defeated, are we back to being enemies?"

"Tobi, we never should have been enemies," his sister told him.

"You did beat us up and try to strand us in another dimension," this dimension's Tori pointed out.

"My sister's right," he said, glancing at Tori before he addressed his sister, "but I forgive you."

"And I forgive you too," she replied. "I never should have asked you to betray… your _friends_, even if I am your sister."

"And, if you're Tobi's sister, I guess that makes _us_ sisters," this dimension's Tori concluded.

Tobi's sister frowned. "Uh, sure."

Tobi turned to her. "Do you think your Dustin will hurt our Dustin?"

"_Our_ Dustin couldn't hurt a fly, let alone _your_ Dustin," his sister replied.

Tobi gave her a confused look. "Since when?"

"You never wondered how we always ended up trashing the industrial side of town instead of houses?" she asked.

"He said stuff blows up better there and it's true," Tobi replied.

She rolled her eyes. "So he always said."

He thought about that and, it's true, he had always wondered if his dimension's Dustin did that on purpose, but that's only because he always wanted to believe that there was some good in Dustin. That was, before he came here and met the Dustin he fell in love with.

"Tobi, can I ask you something?" Skyla suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah, sure," Tobi agreed, curious.

"Did you… have to kill that alien?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Eyezak? I guess so," he replied.

"You couldn't reason with it?" she suggested.

"No, I'm pretty sure I couldn't," he told her.

"Oh," she said, thinking.

"What's wrong, Skyla?" he asked, patting her arm.

"I just think you should never take killing someone or _something_ too lightly," she replied.

"Uh, okay," he agreed, giving her a confused look.

"You okay?" Shane asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, leaning into his body.

The other dimension's Shane watched this with raised eyebrows.

Shane noticed this and turned to the other Shane. "Are we still on the same side?" he asked in his leader voice.

The other Shane nodded. "We'll help you take back Ninja Ops from our Dustin. After that, we'll see."

* * *

The group passed through the waterfall portal to find that the Zords were gone. They then approached the entrance down into Ninja Ops.

"It's sealed," Shane announced.

"And the only two people who would know how to open it are Cam and the other Dustin," Tori pointed out.

"Can we just blast it?" Tobi suggested. "We have to help Dustin and Cam."

"I'm with Tobi on that," Hunter said, calling, "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" As he morphed, he pulled out his Crimson Blaster and fired.

As the smoke cleared, the others leaned forward to see… that the hatch was still sealed.

Shane started to swat at a small insect that was hovering near his face. But, as he reached up, Skyla grabbed his arm, stopping him. He looked over at her, confused.

"It's a moth," she pointed out.

Shane studied the flying creature. "So it is," he agreed.

"Let me guess, killing a moth would be wrong," the other dimension's Shane commented, glancing between Shane and Skyla.

The two just watched as the moth landed on the hatch and fluttered over the panel for a while until…

Suddenly the hatch opened and the moth immediately flew inside.

The others exchanged surprised looks before descending down into Ninja Ops, where the tiny moth was now typing away on the main computer's keyboard.

As the group gathered around the computer, Goldwinger's face appeared on the screen. "Hello my friends!" Goldwinger greeted happily.

"There's a face only a mother could love," the other dimension's Hunter commented, receiving a nod from his brother.

"Goldwinger?" this dimension's Hunter asked, surprised.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" this dimension's Blake added.

"Our dear friend Cam's in trouble and he used my mechanical moth friend to contact me," Goldwinger explained. "Apparently there was this Dustin he was chasing—His word, 'this' Dustin—who caused the Zord Bay to collapse on him. Now he's buried under a layer of rocks and dirt."

Tobi looked at his sister. "I thought you said he wouldn't hurt anyone?"

She shrugged. "I didn't think Dustin would."

"Unfortunately, the information Circuit gave me suggests digging Cam out may cause his delicate position to be compromised and he'd be crushed," Goldwinger continued, causing the others to gasp. "He recommends getting a different Dustin. I guess you have a lot of him to spare. Must be a real studmuffin to have so many clones of him."

"Both Dustins are missing," Hunter told Goldwinger. "We were hoping Cam could help us find them."

"Oh, well I'll tell him that," Goldwinger said and the screen went blank.

"Why does the other me need D-Man to get free?" the other dimension's Cam asked.

"It's the power of earth," Tobi realized. "We have to find Dustin _now_! Not just for Dustin's sake, but for Cam. We can't let him be crushed to death!"

Tori patted Tobi's shoulder and his sister watched this curiously. "He'll be okay," she assured him. "They both will. Shane, do you know how to use Cam's computer to search for Dustin's morpher?"

Shane shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I should've paid more attention to how he worked but I guess I figured he'd always be there. Maybe I took him for granted too." He glanced over at Tobi.

"Now is not the time for blame," Sensei stated as Goldwinger's face reappeared. "Goldwinger," Sensei addressed. "We need to use the computer to search for Dustin."

"I'm way ahead of you this time," Goldwinger replied. "Or, at least Cam is," he amended and the screen changed to a map of the area.

Suddenly Skyla grabbed Tobi's hand and he turned to look at something in her eyes. "Something's wrong," she whispered.

"With Dustin," Tobi realized, turning back to the screen just as a position appeared on the map.

"He's in a cave near the cove," Shane announced, turning from the screen, but Tobi was already gone.

* * *

Tobi streaked to the area of the beach he had seen on Cam's screen and looked around the cove until he spotted a cave. He didn't even both to take the time to morph. His heart was pounding and he felt certain that every second counted.

But, as he entered the cave, he saw Dustin kneeling on the ground. He was staring at something that looked like a pile of dirt and ash.

"Dustin?" Tobi asked cautiously. "Is that you?"

The Dustin in front of him seemed startled, like he'd been off in his own world. He looked from the pile of ash to Tobi and then around the cave, but didn't say anything. There was a complex set of emotions playing out in his eyes.

Tobi stepped closer. "Which Dustin are you?" he asked slowly.

Dustin just stared at him, his eyes becoming shiny. "He's… dead," he whispered.

"Who?" Tobi asked.

Dustin was quiet for a moment, a searching look in his eyes. "TZD," he replied, looking in Tobi's eyes. "Zurgane shot him." He paused, looking back at the ground. "I mean, he tried to shoot me, but… TZD got in the way."

Tobi followed Dustin's gaze down to the pile of dirt and ash and gasped. "You don't mean…"

Dustin just nodded. "Right in front of me, just… poof." He shivered at the memory, turning back to Tobi as he kneeled on the ground. "I'm sorry… TZT. I'm… sorry," he repeated.

Tobi stared at the brown and black pile before him and started to reach out to touch it, but stopped himself. He felt afraid even to breathe and blow the dust away.

"But… you love… me… right?" Dustin asked slowly.

Tobi backed away from the pile slowly, turning to Dustin, who still had a pained look in his eyes. He fell into Dustin's arms. "Yeah, I love you," he choked out.

Just then, the others arrived, entered the cave to see Tobi in Dustin's arms.

Hunter looked around. "I'm guessing the other Dustin bailed again," he suggested, approaching the two. "I'm glad he's okay too," he told Tobi, "but Cam needs his help."

Tobi turned from Dustin, tears in his eyes. He just nodded.

Both Toris approached their brother before the other dimension's version of his sister stopped herself, letting her counterpart approach her brother. "Tobi, what's wrong?" this dimension's Tori asked, concerned.

"He's dead," Tobi replied quietly. "Zurgane killed the other Dustin." He gestured toward the pile of dirt and ash.

The others exchanged horrified looks and Tobi's sister from the other dimension was the first to gasp. She knelt over the pile and started o reach out, but suddenly felt Tobi's hand stop her.

"Don't," he told her. "Just… just leave it."

She nodded, looking at her brother. "He died never having told you he loved you?" she whispered.

"He didn't love me," Tobi whispered back.

"No, it's just you who didn't love him," she replied, "but he did mean something to you. That much I know for sure. You've always felt something for him. And… I always assumed it was love because… it was something I never felt."

"What are you talking about?" Tobi asked her.

"I've never been in love," she explained. "Not even with Blake. And I've never been loved back by anyone but you. And yet you betrayed me and Dustin too."

"I didn't betray him," Tobi argued.

"I wonder if he knew that," she whispered, looking at the ash. "He had a lifetime with you and you traded it for a few days with another Dustin."

"Shut up," Tobi growled, turning way. As he did, he saw Skyla watching him and he ran over to her. "Skyla, can you see him?" she asked earnestly.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tobi."

He turned back around. "But he can hear me, right?" There was no response, so he just said, "I'm sorry, Dustin. I wish things had been different, but it's too late now. I can't change the past but… you meant… _something_ to me. And, even though you were a jerk sometimes, I'll miss you." He then walked back over to Dustin. "Let's go rescue Cam now."

The others exchanged silent looks.

"I don't get it," the other dimension's Cam commented. "What happened to our Dustin?"

The other dimension's Hunter patted Cam's shoulder. "He's gone."

"And he was always the one with the most potential," grumpy Sensei said to himself.

"Come on, Cam," Cam's mother said, leading her son out of the cave with the others.

Off in the distance, Zurgane watched in silence.

* * *

"The others are on their way and they have Dustin," Goldwinger's voice came from Circuit, "but they seem different somehow."

"What do you mean?" Cam choked from the lack of air.

"I think something happened, but it's just a feeling," Goldwinger replied.

"Oh," Cam said before grunting.

"What's wrong, Cam?" came Circuit's voice.

"Cramp," Cam said, shifting his weight.

"Cam, don't!" Circuit shouted just as the dirt moved along with Cam and suddenly a wall of dirt poured over Cam, burying him. "Cam!" Circuit cried. "Goldwinger, tell them to hurry!"

* * *

The others explained the situation to a Dustin who still seemed to be in a state of shock. Tobi patted his shoulder and Dustin looked at him. He looked almost guilty over the other Dustin's death.

"It's not your fault he got between you and Zurgane," Tobi told him. "And, I'm okay, really," he added. "I don't know why he'd sacrifice himself though. After all he did, to go out saving someone he was jealous of…"

"This can wait, Tobi," Tori told him softly. "We need to hurry."

"Right," Tobi said as Dustin blinked and turned to go.

Hunter looked at Tori before speaking up. "I'll come with you," he told Dustin.

Dustin gave him a surprised look. "Thanks, Hunter," he replied and the two left the main room.

* * *

Cam felt himself being buried alive and his instinct was to fight against the dirt, but moving around seemed to only make it so that he was buried faster. He couldn't' breathe and he was testing his ability to hold his breath. Swimming classes would probably have helped. Or, maybe he could have left on the scuba gear. Really, ever removing his amulet was a mistake and he knew it. He just hoped it wasn't his last mistake.

He reached out, trying to feel Circuit or anything besides dirt and rocks, but he'd slipped too far and the weight alone was threatening to crush him.

That was when his outstretched hand met with someone else's and he felt himself moving quickly through the dirt.

A moment later, Cam found himself outside the Zord Bay, coughing heavily.

"Are you alright, Cam?" a voice asked as Cam looked up to see Hunter pulling him up and wiping dirt off his face.

He couldn't help but blush, although the dirt probably hid most of it. "I'll be okay," he assured Hunter, still coughing. "What about Dustin?"

"He's getting Circuit," Hunter explained. "And…" he added, lowering his voice.

"What?" Cam asked.

"He saw Zurgane kill the other Dustin right in front of him," Hunter replied. "he seems pretty shaken up about it."

"Oh," Cam realized. "What about Tobi?"

Hunter frowned. "I don't know," he admitted. "It wasn't the Dustin he loved, but it was the Dustin he grew up with and I think he still cares about him."

Cam was silent for a moment. "Hunter, I had a lot of time to think while I was buried under there and… I asked Tori this after Tobi died," he began hesitantly. "I want to know how you feel about…" He took a breath. "Me." Hunter's eyebrows raised and Cam immediately added, "I mean, you as in the other rangers in general, how all you feel about me."

A small smile formed on Hunter's face. "Smooth, Cam, real smooth," he replied. "And… we like you. We like you a lot.

"That's… that's good to hear," Cam said slowly as Dustin emerged from the wall of dirt that was once the Zord Bay holding Circuit.

"Cam, are you okay?" Circuit asked, promptly flying over to him. "I warned you not to move."

"I'm fine, Circuit," Cam replied, "and I'll listen to you from now on." He then turned back to Hunter. "Thank you," he said before adding, "Thank you both."

Dustin approached Cam and stared at him. "You sure you're not hurt?" he asked.

Cam started to rise and Hunter helped him up. "Nothing feels broken," he replied, stretching. "I could go for a bath though."

"I'm sorry, Cam," Dustin suddenly said.

Cam gave him a confused look. "For what?"

Dustin blinked. "I'm… just glad you're okay." He then turned and left the Zord Bay.

Hunter and Cam exchanged confused looks.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the main room of Ninja Ops, the other dimension's cam turned to his parents. "I can't believe D-Man's… dead."

"Neither can I," the other dimension's Blake added.

"It was so stupid for him to just run off with their Dustin like that," the other dimension's Shane growled. "What was he thinking?"

The other dimension's Hunter looked away suddenly. "I wish I knew."

"Things will never be the same," the other dimension's Tori commented, "that's for sure."

Tobi nodded. Everything changed the moment I came here." He heard someone entering the room and looked over to see Dustin entering.

"Is Cam okay?" Tobi asked, approaching him.

Dustin nodded. "He's fine," he replied quietly, looking Tobi in the eyes before glancing at the other dimension's rangers. "I'm gonna get some air." He then headed toward the exit and left Ninja Ops.

"Your Dustin really is… _sensitive_," Tobi's sister told him.

"You didn't see someone burned alive in front of you," Tobi snapped, leaving Ninja Ops.

She started to follow, but this dimension's Tori stopped her. "Let them talk this out," she suggested.

Tobi's sister paused before nodding in agreement.

* * *

Outside, Tobi found Dustin standing near a tree, staring off toward the setting sun.

Tobi approached, placing a hand on Dustin's arm. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there. Maybe I could have done something."

"It's not your fault, TZT," Dustin told him, turning to stare into his eyes. "Do you… miss him?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah, I do actually," Tobi admitted. "I can't seem to accept the idea he's not just in another dimension, that he's… gone."

Dustin nodded, still watching him. "Will you be okay?"

Tobi blinked. "Yeah," he said somberly. "I still have you." He pulled Dustin to him and Dustin reached out, wrapping Tobi in a hug. "I love you, Dustin," Tobi whispered.

After a moment, Dustin replied, "I love you too, Tobs."

Tobi pulled back, looking up at him. "Tobs? That's what the other Dustin called me."

Dustin blinked, looking away. "I know," he replied. "We talked… about a lot of things."

"Really? Like what?" Tobi asked.

"He was afraid of commitment," Dustin explained, still looking away. "He was afraid of being made fun of. TZD was afraid of a lot of things, TZT."

Tobi just nodded. "But why did he trap Cam in the Zord Bay?"

"He didn't mean to," Dustin explained. "He was afraid of the Zords."

"But he _built_ Zords," Tobi pointed out, "'for fun.'"

"No, not just for fun," Dustin disagreed, "but because Hunter told him his and Blake's parents were going to give them their own Zords. TZD knew that having another set of Zords to fight against would sound fun but secretly he knew it would also keep them from using their Zords against the city."

"Oh," Tobi realized. "I get it now. They'd Zord battle each other outside the city, but if he didn't built his own Zords, Hunter and Blake might have smashed the city for fun."

Dustin nodded. "After that day when the Zord killed your mom, he couldn't let that happen again."

"I thought it was strange that Dustin would make Zords after seeing what they could do," Tobi commented.

"And… TZT," Dustin said, turning back to him. "He didn't have to go back for his robot. It was… an excuse."

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked, confused.

"He looked up at the Zord and he ran," Dustin explained. "He was afraid and because of that, your mom died." His eyes began to glisten.

"My mom died because my sister couldn't save us both," Tobi argued.

"She couldn't' save you both _herself_," Dustin pointed out, tension in his voice, "but I could have stayed and helped. Then your mom would be alive instead of dead just like… like the other Dustin, TZT."

"It's not your—" Tobi began before stopping. "Wait, _you_ could have stayed and helped?"

Dustin looked at him, confused, until his eyes widened in realization. "I mean, _he_ could have stayed and helped," he quickly corrected. "It's _his_ fault you mom's dead and… it's also _his_ fault your Dustin's dead. If _he_ hadn't kidnapped him—"

"What do you mean, _my_ Dustin?" Tobi asked, pulling away from Dustin to stare at him.

"I just mean from your dimension," Dustin said quickly. "Not _your_ Dustin as in the one you love. That'd… that'd break your heart."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled, still looking at him.

"But he was—wasn't the one who died," Dustin continued, looking away, something in his eyes.

A feeling of panic began to rise in Tobi as he sensed something that his mind didn't even want to acknowledge. "_He_ wasn't the one…" he repeated. "Dustin?" he asked, stepping back a step.

Dustin eyes began to search for something in his mind until his face relaxed and promptly fell. "I'm sorry, Tobs."

Tobi gasped, covering his mouth with one hand. "You… you?" he stuttered.

"I tired to be him," Dustin explained, adding, "for _you_. I tried to be him because I knew you loved him."

"Loved, not love?" Tobi choked, tears forming in his eyes.

"When Zurgane showed up, I didn't expect him to just…" Dustin explained, reaching out to take Tobi's arms in his. "I tried to stop him, but… he fired and…"

Tobi shook off Dustin's touch. "I don't believe you!" he shouted. "You lied to me, pretending to be the Dustin I love and you're lying now."

"Tobs, I'm telling the truth," Dustin insisted. "I have been telling the truth. I really do… love you. I didn't know it. Maybe you've changed or maybe I've changed. I don't know. But, Tobs, we can make this work. I can't undo what I did, but I'm asking—no, I'm begging for your forgiveness."

Tobi stared at him through tear-filled, shocked and horrified eyes.

"I don't blame you if you hate me, but please," Dustin begged.

Tobi shook his head. "You're lying. You'd never ask me for anything, especially not forgiveness. That's not who you are. This is a trick. It… _has_ to be."

Dustin's eyes fell. "I wish it were, Tobs. I really wish it were. I would give anything to trade places with him, to have been the one who died."

"You'd—you'd never want that," Tobi argued. "You only care about yourself."

"Maybe you're not the only one who's changed," Dustin suggested. "I just wish that pile of ash was me instead…"

Tobi stared off at the sunset and let what Dustin was telling him finally start to sink in. It all made sense; the guilt Dustin felt, the fear, the trying to be what Dustin thought he wanted. He didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. That pile of dirt and ash was all that was left of the Dustin he loved…

Dustin could see the tears streaming down Tobi's face and watched in awe as they evaporated. "Tobs," he whispered, starting to reach out. But that was when Tobi lost it. All the control he'd built up since he became a ninja vanished in the mist around his face.

"No no no no… No!" he screamed, his eyes glowing as suddenly Dustin's training suit burst into flames.

Dustin yelped, falling backward just as a wave of energy shot out from Tobi, throwing him against the nearby tree with a snap that shattered the tree. The roots below it were pulled from the earth as the grass all around Tobi burst into flames.

Tobi gasped, choking on the smoke. Everything seemed to be going crazy in his head. The one and only person he ever truly loved was dead.

Tobi started running. It was all he could think of doing. But, as he ran, a trail of fire followed him, burning every plant along the way.

* * *

Suddenly an alarm blared in Ninja Ops and the others looked toward the screen. "I'm on it," Cam said, seated in front of his computer.

Shane patted his shoulder. "We're glad you're back, man," he told Cam.

Cam just nodded, watching the screen. "There's a forest fire right outside," he announced. "Tori," he addressed, spinning around before realizing that there were two Toris. "or both of you," he amended, "deal with the fire."

"What about Dustin and Tobi?" Hunter asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Cam said as the two Tori's streaked outside. "I can't see through the smoke."

"What caused the fire?" Blake asked.

"I'll see if I can find out," Cam replied, searching through camera footage.

"Cam, I found Dustin and he's hurt," Tori's voice came from the Samurai Amulet that she had returned to him.

At that moment, the footage loaded, showing Tobi light Dustin on fire and then destroy the surrounding area before streaking off, burning everything in his path.

"There must be some… explanation," Hunter gasped.

"The amulet," Blake said. "Maybe it wasn't just the Shade Amulet that possesses people. Sensei Omino killed Leanne, his own daughter."

"Wait, Leanne's dead?" the other dimension's Blake asked, concerned.

Hunter nodded. "And now Tobi's trying to kill…" he began before streaking outside.

"Tobi can do this?" the other dimension's Shane asked himself Cam grabbed a green medical kit and the others followed him outside.

* * *

Outside, the others knelt over Dustin while this dimension's Tori held him and Tobi's sister finished putting out the last of the fires on this side of the portal.

"Give me some room," Cam asked as he opened the medical kit and then began examining Dustin. He lifted the charred clothes, examining the skin as Tori winced and looked away.

"Will he be okay?" Hunter asked, taking Dustin hand in his own.

"He has third degree burns to his arms and chest," Cam explained. "I'll disinfect the area, but staying morphed should heal him." He then began cleaning Dustin's wounds.

"How did this happen?" Tori asked the others.

"Tobi did this," Hunter answered flatly.

"Tobi? Why?" she asked, surprised.

Just then, Tobi's sister approached. "That's what I want to know," she announced. "I'd also like to know _how_, but I'll settle for why right now."

"It might be the Sun Amulet," Blake suggested.

"If he could do this to Dustin," Hunter began, holding Dustin tighter, "he could do this to anyone. We have to stop him."

"He's my brother," Tobi's sister said. "I'll go after him."

Tori stood up. "He's my brother too. I'm coming with you."

Tobi's sister shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Be careful," Blake, Hunter and cam all said in unison. They turned to look at each other, surprised.

Tobi's sister also noticed this and gave Tori an equally surprised look.

"We'll be careful," Tori assured them before the two left.

"Dustin, can you hear me?" Cam asked.

Dustin slowly blinked his eyes open.

"I need you to morph," Cam told him. "You have severe burns and… it looks like Tobi did this to you."

Dustin nodded. "He was… upset."

"There's an understatement," Hunter mumbled, pulled Dustin closer.

Dustin looked up at Hunter, surprised.

"I'm sorry he did this to you, Dustin," Hunter told him. "I thought… I mean, I'm sure he still loves you. He's just… not himself."

Dustin nodded again. "That's true," he said, watching Hunter. After a moment, he rested his head on the blonde's shoulder.

Hunter looked from Dustin to cam and the exchanged a surprised look.

* * *

Tobi could feel the heat on his skin as the flames followed him, but the Sun Amulet just healed any burns he might have developed.

Once exhaustion was about to overcome him, he felt a cool dampness form on the back of his neck. Skidding to a stop, he turned around to see the fires behind him being put out by torrents of water, resulting in steam evaporating into the air.

He just waited, catching his breath and knowing what was coming.

As two Tori's approached him, he was soaked with water. They then looked around, but everything was too wet to catch on fire, even if Tobi was still a fire hazard.

"Tobi?" one Tori asked slowly as she cautiously approached him. "We know that you didn't mean to do what you did to Dustin. It's the amulet."

Tobi gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"She means we don't think you torched Dustin on purpose," the other Tori explained.

Tobi frowned, water running down his face. "Maybe I did."

The two Toris exchanged worried glances.

"It's his fault, after all," he said, but then he paused. "No, I didn't do it on purpose. I just… I couldn't deal with the truth."

"You mean, that our Dustin's dead," Tobi's sister suggested.

Tobi shook his head. "No," h replied, looking down at the damp ground around him. "He lied. He's not the Dustin I love. He's the Dustin from our dimension."

The two Toris gasped. "Are you sure?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Tobi replied quietly. "That's what Skyla sensed. That pile of ash wasn't the smart, manipulative Dustin. It was… the sweet, trusting Dustin. It was… my Dustin…" By this point, tears were streaming down his already wet face.

The two Tori's approached him, holding him as he cried on one of his sister's shoulders.

"I loved him," Tobi choked between sobs. "I loved him so much."

"I know," Tori offered, patting his back as her own eyes watered. "I can't believe…"

"But, Tobi," the other Tori interrupted, "There's still one Dustin left."

"But I don't love him!" Tobi growled. "I love the Dustin who likes pizza ice cream and Pinky and the Brain, who called me Twilight Zone Tobi and said I shined like the sun when it was him who always shined, the Dustin who's so…" He searched his mind for the right word. "Alive. He was so… _alive_."

Tori sniffed, wiping her face. "I know what you mean, Tobi," she agreed.

"But, Tobi," the other Tori continued, "if you love me, then you must love our Dustin too."

Tobi looked at his sister, a confused expression on his face.

"You remember the day our mom died?" she asked.

"I've never forgotten," he replied somberly.

"Our Dustin could have stayed and helped," she explained, "instead of checking on his stupid robot. Maybe, just maybe, together we could have saved you both, but you know what, little brother? You didn't blame _him_ for running away. You've always blamed _me_ for choosing. And, yet, you say you love me. So, if you love me and blame me, why can't you love the Dustin you could never blame for anything? He treated you like you didn't matter and you never blamed him for a thing. You only blamed me."

Tobi stared at his sister, letting her words really hit him with a force. He looked down, admitting, "You're right. I blamed you, but I never blamed him."

"So, you finally admit you do love him too?" she asked.

He looked from one sister to another. "No," he disagreed. "I don't know why, but I never loved him. I've only ever really loved one person in my life."

Tori wiped her eyes. "Only one?" she repeated. "Tobi, sometimes love sneaks up on you."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "You love Blake. You've only ever loved Blake."

She started to protest, but Tobi separated himself from his sisters.

Turning around, he told them, "I love you both. But I loved Dustin more. And… maybe I did love my dimension's Dustin, but I loved this dimension's Dustin more."

"Tobi," one of his sister's began to protest, but he turned away.

"I need to go…" he whispered. "I need some time to think."

Tori started to follow him as he left, but the other Tori stopped her. "Let him go," she whispered. "I think the worst is over."

"I hope you're right," Tori replied, watching the steam.

* * *

Tobi found himself wandering through Blue Bay Harbor, but, much to his relief, no fires formed around him. He passed by an ice cream shop and remembered his promise to Dustin, that they'd get ice cream together once the whole mess was over. Well, it was all over now. He was reminded of the day he overheard Dustin choose Hunter and, just like that day, when he looked up, he once again found himself in front of his parents' house… home.

The porch light turned on as he approached the door, but he stopped himself. This wasn't really his home. His real father hated him. He didn't' have a younger sister and his mother was dead. He only thought he belonged here because of Dustin. This dimension's Dustin was what really made him feel at home here. Dustin was home because, really, home is where the heart is and Dustin held his heart. Without that, without Dustin, he belonged in the other dimension.

But, inside, he knew he never really belonged there…

So, Tobi left his house and kept walking.

If the other Dustin had never kidnapped Dustin, he'd still be alive, but why had he taken him. It was because the other Dustin was jealous.

That was it. If Dustin had stayed with Hunter, the other Dustin never would have been jealous. So, that choice cost Dustin his life. Choosing Tobi over Hunter killed him.

But why did Dustin choose him over Hunter?

"Tobi, are you okay?" a voice interrupted Tobi's thoughts. He looked up to see that he was standing in front of Storm Chargers and Kelly was locking up for the night.

Tobi just whimpered in response.

"Come inside," Kelly said quickly, unlocking the door and leading him inside. Once they were inside, she turned to him. "You look terrible. What happened?"

"Why did he choose me?" Tobi asked her.

"Maybe you can be a little more specific," she said. "Who are you talking about?"

"Dustin," Tobi replied. "Why did he choose me?"

"I thought he chose Hunter," she commented.

"He did, but then he chose me," Tobi explained. "Why didn't he stay with Hunter? Why did he have to choose me?"

Kelly gave him a confused look. "You sound like you didn't want him to choose you."

Tobi lowered his head and continued to cry.

She put an arm over his shoulder. "I've known Dustin for a long time," she began. "It was actually him, Tori and Shane's idea that I open Storm Chargers. And I've known Dustin long enough to know that he has the biggest heart of anyone I've met. If he said he chose you, it means that he loves you more than anyone else."

"Even Hunter?" Tobi asked.

"Even Hunter," Kelly agreed. "Dustin's the type of person who can care about a lot of people so much that it's like he loves them all because, with anyone else, that amount of caring would be love, but he's always held a part of himself back. I think that's the part he wanted you to have."

Tobi just nodded, wiping his face.

"And that's pretty special, Tobi," she told him. "Because a little love from Dustin is more than all the love someone else could give you, so a lot of love from Dustin is…"

"Awesome," Tobi finished.

Kelly laughed to herself. "Yeah, as Dustin would say, 'awesome.'"

Tobi stood up, approaching the door.

"Tobi, when you see Dustin, can you tell him… if it's not too much trouble, can he show up early tomorrow?" she asked.

"When I see him," Tobi repeated, his eyes glazing over as he left the store and walked to the beach.

* * *

The sky was black except for the moon and a few stars, but as Tobi approached the sound of the crashing waves, the reflection of the moon off the ocean's surface cast an eerie glow over the beach. He shivered as a cold wind blew off the water.

"So, you are the Gold Power Ranger," a deep voice announced.

Tobi turned from watching the moonlight dance across the waves. It was hard to make out in the dark, but he thought he recognized the voice. "Zurgane?"

"That's General Zurgane to you," Zurgane replied. "And I see you are here alone. Perfect."

Tobi remembered Zurgane from Kelly's failed kidnapping attempt back in his dimension, but this wasn't the same Zurgane. This was the Zurgane responsible for Dustin's death. "You killed Dustin!" he shouted.

"If you mean the yellow ranger, then yes," Zurgane replied.

"He was… my boyfriend," Tobi declared. "And I love him."

"There was another one of him," Zurgane told him. "He tried to stop me, but I let him live. Teenage romance is fickle and temporary anyway. Surely he will do."

Tobi growled. "Dustin is _not_ replaceable!" he yelled. "You're going down!" he added, approaching the alien.

Zurgane looked around and laughed. "I'm afraid it is you who is going down," he replied. "I have gone up against all your fellow Power Rangers combined and together they have never brought me down," he pointed out. "What can one boy do?"

"You'd be surprised," Tobi answered.

"You will fall before I do," Zurgane told him.

"I'm not afraid to die," Tobi replied. "I've been dead before and… I'm ready to join Dustin."

"So, this is a suicide attempt?" Zurgane asked. "I can oblige you. My master will be pleased with your sacrifice."

Tobi stopped only a few paces from Zurgane. "I'm still not going down without a fight."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Zurgane replied, pulling out two swords from his large shoulder pads and launching forward, the swords slicing across Tobi's chest.

Tobi looked down at his town training suit, but the cut across his chest instantly healed. Then, Zurgane tossed his swords high into the air and aimed his fingers at Tobi, sending a blast of energy out of his fingers.

Tobi raised his arms, deflecting the energy back at Zurgane.

Zurgane caught his swords and immediately used them to bounce the beam back at Tobi, who once again deflected it, this time missing Zurgane.

"Your boyfriend went down easier than you," Zurgane announced. "Maybe he wasn't worthy of your skills."

"Dustin was worthy of anything he wanted," Tobi yelled. "It wasn't just selfishness that made me glad he chose me. He honestly seemed so… happy. He deserved to be happy. And you… You took that away from him!"

"_Dustin_," Zurgane mused. "I suppose that's a fitting name considering he's now just _dust_."

Tobi felt a growl rise up in his throat as his muscles tensed. Suddenly the dark night became lit from a light coming from his own eyes.

Zurgane tried to attack him, but Tobi just looked at him and he skidded backward across the sand.

Tobi then concentrated on the strands of life he could sense within Zurgane and he felt his instinct want to ignite and encourage that life, but he fought against his instinct. Instead, he started tearing at those strands of life and he focused on a fire of a completely different kind.

"What… are… you… doing?" Zurgane gasped out as his body began to burn from the inside out. "Ah!" he cried, his limbs twitching wildly. He tried to step forward toward Tobi, but his leg snapped off beneath him. This caused him to lose his balance and he fell forward.

The moment he hit the ground, his body smashed into a pile of dust.

Zurgane as dead.

And, with that death, Tobi fell to his knees and stared at the pile of ash in front of him. He remembered Skyla's warning about killing and he realized that the remains of Zurgane looked so similar to what was left of Dustin.

* * *

In Ninja Ops, Cam had Dustin demorph to check the progress of his burns. "It doesn't look like they're healing as fast as I thought," Cam sighed. "I don't know what Tobi did to you. And, under normal circumstances, he would be the one I'd ask to heal you."

"Maybe you should find him," Hunter told Cam with a pat on his shoulder.

Cam nodded, turning back to his computer.

"Tobi can heal someone?" Dustin asked, surprised.

"You've already done the whole 'I lost my memory' thing," Hunter told him. "We're not falling for it again."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, blinking.

"I thought your Dustin calls Tobi TZT," the other dimension's Hunter pointed out.

Just then, Skyla gasped. "In a flash, Shane held his arms around her. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"It's Tobi," she whispered.

"Guys," Cam announced. "I've found Tobi." The others gathered around his screen as he continued. "He's at the beach where we found Dustin and," he explained, pausing, "I want you to see a satellite feed from a few minutes ago." He pressed a series of buttons and an image appeared on the screen.

"It's Zurgane," Blake recognized.

"We have to help Tobi," Hunter added.

"Just watch," Cam warned as, on the screen, Tobi and Zurgane seemed to be having some conversation before they started fighting. After a while, though, Tobi's eyes began to glow and Zurgane stepped forward, his leg breaking off. Losing his balance, Zurgane fell to the sand and crumbled to dust.

Skyla gasped, turning away and burying her head in Shane's chest. Reaching up, he patted her back. "Tobi destroyed Zurgane… by himself?" he asked.

Cam nodded as, on the screen, Tobi knelt over the remains of Zurgane. "So, it seems," he replied.

"If Zurgane couldn't stop him, how can we?" Blake asked. "The amulet's possessed him."

"I don't know, bro," Hunter replied. "I don't know."

"He's not under some outside influence," Dustin suddenly spoke up. "He did it because Zurgane killed the Dustin he loved."

"But Tobi loves you," Hunter argued.

Dustin shook his head. "He loves the Dustin I kidnapped, the one who really died."

The others looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you saying…" Cam began, spinning in his chair.

"He's saying he's my dimension's Dustin," Tobi's sister announced, entering Ninja Ops with Tori.

"And he's telling the truth," Tori added, her eyes red from crying.

"So… this is _our_ Dustin?" the other dimension's Blake asked.

"That's right," Dustin admitted.

"D-Man's alive!" the other dimension's Cam cheered, reaching for a high five from his dimension's Hunter, who returned it.

"I knew he was too smart to be killed," the other dimension's Shane commented, "unlike your dopey Dustin."

This dimension's Shane leaned toward the other Shane's face. "Dustin is not dopey!" he declared through gritted teeth. "And I don't believe a word that comes out of _your_ Dustin's mouth."

"He's telling the truth, finally," Tobi's sister said, approaching Dustin. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Dustin," she accused, glaring at him, "but that was _stupid_. You idiot!" She suddenly punched him in the face and he stumbled into this dimension's Hunter, who caught him before suddenly releasing him.

"What's he saying?" Hunter asked.

"Our Dustin is the one who died," this dimension's Tori said quietly. "Tobi overreacted when he found out the truth."

Tobi's sister from his dimension still stood in front of Dustin as he examined his lip, which was now bleeding. "You hurt my brother beyond anything he'll ever get over," she stated angrily. "You stupid bastard!" She then kneed him in the balls and he crumpled to the floor.

"Stop this!" Sensei yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the small guinea pig.

"Tobi!" Skyla cried.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked.

"I think he's going to… kill himself," she whispered.

"Because he's been dead and he knows there's an afterlife in at least one form or another," this dimension's cam realized.

"And he hopes to find Dustin there," Tori added, her eyes widening.

"Peeps, we should stop Fairy Dude," the other dimension's Cam spoke up.

"We've never cared about him before," the other dimension's Shane pointed out. "Why start now?"

"It was different when we thought it was our Dustin who died," the other dimension's Hunter pointed out.

"Yeah," the other dimension's Blake agreed.

By this point, this dimension's Hunter was glaring at Dustin as the earth ninja cried silently on the ground. "Let's go," he growled out.

This dimension's Blake placed a hand on his brother's back. "Bro, you okay?"

Hunter looked at his brother, his eyes shiny. In one look, he told his younger brother how he felt but he also told him he couldn't let it out, at least not yet.

"Right," Blake nodded. "Let's go."

"I want to come with you," Dustin said from the floor.

"You've done enough," Hunter yelled at him.

Hippy Marah reached to stop Hunter. "If the other Dustin was here, he'd say to give him another chance," she whispered, her eyes also filled with tears as she held Dustiny in one arm and Geo stood silently by Kapri.

Hunter's muscles tensed. "Fine," he growled, "if he can keep up." He then left Ninja Ops.

Dustin struggled to follow both dimension's rangers, but Cam helped him to his feet. Dustin gave him a surprised look.

Cam just sighed as he examined Dustin's burns and the new wound on his face.

"Cam, why do you still… care when everyone else hates me?" Dustin asked horsely.

"I care about people," Cam said simply. "I don't blame them, but I can't change how I feel either."

Dustin offered him a surprised look as Cam finished his examination and the other dimension's Cam peaked his head back into Ninja Ops. "D-Man, you need me to carry you?"

Dustin turned, surprised. "No, Cam," he replied, "but… thanks."

"If you must go, you'll survive," this dimension's Cam told Dustin.

"Thanks, Cam," Dustin said, turning to go before pausing. "And, Cam, I really am sorry I almost killed you. I'm not always as smart as people think… but I still think there's a better way to fight Lothor than with Zords. I'll tell you when I return." He then left Ninja Ops with the other dimension's Cam, leaving another confused Cam behind him.

* * *

Tobi sat in the cave, staring at the remains of Dustin that were lit by his eyes. He reached out, but this time, he didn't stop himself. He buried his fingers in the ash, focusing hard. But, try as he might, he couldn't find a single strand of life to ignite.

He removed his hands and felt the debris on his palms. It was all that was left of the one person he loved more than life itself.

"When I see him," he whispered, remember Kelly's words.

Picking up a nearby rock, he turned it over in his hand and ran the sharp edge across his dirty palm. As a cut formed, the ash mixed into the blood before the Sun Amulet on his morpher glowed and the cut healed itself.

He tossed the rock aside and stood up, looking around. "I love you, Dustin," he said outloud, removing the morpher from his wrist and letting it and the Sun Amulet fall to the ground.

Then, concentrating, he sent a wave of force out from his body. The cave walls vibrated and the ceiling began to collapse. And, as the entire cave crumbled, he released the energy and was buried.

_**

* * *

To be continued...**_

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ I know Tobi deciding to kill himself is a bit stupid and rash, but, if you've been in love, you know it makes you do stupid and rash things sometimes. FYI, in the episode General Deception Part 2, Vexacus kills Zurgane after he's defeated by the Power Rangers._

_**ATTENTION REVIEWERS:**__ So, did good Dustin really die or should it have been just a mistake? Should Tobi see him in the spirit world or be rescued? The next chapter's up in the air until I hear from you! And, don't hold back when writing a review. I want to hear it all!_


	36. The Perils of Love

**Current Poll: **_**Besides Shane and Skyla, what pairing combination do you want to see in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? **_This gives you the chance to pick your favorite pairings and a runner up. If you don't see the combination you want, you can always let me know through reviewing.

**A Note About Recent Polls: **I have decided to take my time creating pairings. After all, some of the characters haven't really been given much of a chance yet. I know Hunter/Cam won the last poll, but it feels… _forced_. So, even though I will eventually listen to the readers, don't expect it right away. Also, a strong review (or being a regular reviewer) has a lot of sway too.

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_**Author's Notes: **This chapter borrows from the episode **Gem of a Day**, which is the episode that follows **General Deception**. It's another emotional, drama-centric chapter, without action. I'm really tired as I'm typing this up, so I apologize in advance if there are more typos than usual._

_**~Winner** for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… **Ruon jian**! It helped me decide on what to do with this chapter, so…_

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_**Review Comments:**_

_Thanks **Ghostwriter** for your continued reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I can't always get a "woah" chapter, but I try! This one reminds me more of a soap opera and probably wouldn't have appeared in Power Rangers (you know, since it lacks action). Still, you're like a super Power Rangers fan and you keep coming back for more, so I must be doing something right...  
_

_Thanks **ken627**for your concern and suggestion! I didn't really have time to do anything with TZCam liking TZDustin in this chapter because I dealt with so many other things, but I think TZCam likes everyone, just TZDustin in particular. I realized that you're right, what has happened here is in fact already changing each of the TZ characters, so I refer to that a little in here. As for what happens to Tobi and Dustin, you'll have to read to find out. And, lastly, I've decided that Hunter/Cam felt rushed and forced, so I decided to tone it down. It's hard for people to fall in love when someone else is dead, after all. Plus, it gave me a chance to build up the characters of TZTori and TZDustin._

_Thanks **Ruon jian** for your winning the most creative idea award! Unfortunately, I ran out of prizes, so you'll have to imagine you won something. Now, as for what I will do with your idea, I guess we'll see… I don't want to say more because then it would be a spoiler. Okay, so reading your review would then also qualify as a spoiler. Hmm. Anyway, I also personally like Hunter and Tori (or Hunter/Tori/Blake or just Hunter/Blake) for this story, so maybe people will give it a chance. The whole Hunter/Cam thing feels forced (hence the new poll). And, lastly, you said that I made TZDustin and Tobi an impossibility and I realized that you're right. So, I decided to give the two something that may or may not give them a chance. I also tried to not make him so hated._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for trusting me to make everything work out! But, I have to warn you that things won't work out right away. There are a lot of issues to tackle here and so I decided to go with another emotional chapter. I'm sorry I made you cry and I hope I don't do it again with this one, but I might… So, sorry in advance! It's just ideas come to me and I run with them. Sometimes tragedies help reveal aspects of characters that might not otherwise be revealed. And, about the poll, Hunter/Cam is leading by 1 vote over Hunter/Tori (if you ignore the other pairings, which you do except for Dustin/Tobi), but I try in this chapter to give people some other options. So, I show how each of the characters (well, not all, because I just didn't have time to deal with every character) could form a relationship with another. And, I try to remind people that Hunter/Tori can still exist (even though so many of them prefer Hunter/Cam, see note at top of page)._

_Thanks **megsjedi **for declaring me "excellent"! I assume you mean the writing and thank you very much! I'm glad I can evoke strong emotions. It shows I succeeded in both surprising and captivating you as a reader, drawing you into the drama. Speaking of drama, the drama continues in this chapter. As for what will happen to Dustin and Tobi, I guess you'll have to read to find out. I know this chapter won't be as good as the last, but I'd like to think it does still elicit at least some strong emotions. I'll guess we'll see!_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for pointing out when something is confusing or forced! First, I hope that the last chapter and this one are less confusing than chapter 34. I read it over, but I guess it makes sense to me because I'm the one who wrote it. The last chapter (35) seemed clearer in my mind when I was writing it, so I think it was less confusing. I can't win them all. Now, about Hunter/Cam, that's who won the previous poll. I didn't really want to do the pairing and it came off as forced, so I created the new pairing poll. Still, Hunter/Cam are leading once again in one form or another. So, I try to give people some ideas for other possible pairings in the chapter. It's hard to go with polls sometimes, because I don't always like the results…_

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for the pep talk! Your support reminds me of a coach cheering on their star player! And, yes, you're right, help and encouragement is how reviewers work, although sometimes critique is necessary. For example, if something doesn't make sense or I have a bunch of typos because I'm tired out of my mind (like I have been recently). If no reviewer lets the writer know this, the writer might think he can write while half asleep. Next thing you know, the writer's drunk writing. And drunk writing isn't as good as sober writing. Not that I would know this! I have never been drunk. Uh, yeah, anyway! Since you couldn't come up with love interests for the other rangers, I figured I'd just focus on TZDustin and TZTori in this chapter and deal with the others at some point in the future. I like to just throw out possible pairings. It also means the characters get along better later on. Now, as for Stargate guys being hot… You're right, to each their own. I won't say any more!_

_Thanks **BloodRoseNinja **for declaring the last chapter "amazing"! I'm glad that I could shock and surprise you. I read your review while I was working on this chapter and I tried to think of something shocking to throw in here because I was like, clearly unexpected things work well. So, I debated whether it would feel overdone if I just kept doing surprising and twisted things. In the end, this chapter is a compromise. It's mostly just drama, but I try to add in some twists and turns to surprise the reader. I guess we'll have to see if I succeed. But, even if this chapter doesn't turn out as good, at least I can know I managed to earn a "holly shit" with the last chapter._

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dustin is kidnapped by the other dimension's Dustin. After they talk, Zurgane shows up and shoots one of them. Meanwhile, Cam's trapped under rock and uses Circuit to communicate with Goldwinger to call for help. The rangers enter Ninja Ops and find that only Dustin can save Cam, so they go in search of him. They find Dustin in shock, saying that the other dimension's Dustin was killed by Zurgane. After Dustin and Hunter rescue Cam, Tobi discovers that Dustin is really the other dimension's Dustin and when he tells Tobi his beloved Dustin is the one who died, Tobi freaks out, burning Dustin and everything around him. His sisters try to calm him, but he wanders through the city until he encounters Zurgane. Filled with rage, he destroys Zurgane. Meanwhile, Dustin confesses to the others the truth and Tobi's sister beats him up. Cam is the only one who helps that Dustin. Back at the beach, Tobi wants to join Dustin in death, so he removes his morpher with the Sun Amulet and collapses the cave on himself...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 36 (The Perils of Love)**

* * *

When the rangers arrived at the beach, the moonlight cast long shadows across the sand.

"Anyone bring a flashlight?" Shane called.

Suddenly a flash of lightning filled the sky, followed by another. Crack! Thunder rolled as lightning struck the nearby surf.

"Bro," Blake said, placing a hand on Hunter's arm. "I think it'd be safer if I handle this."

Hunter blinked and the lightning stopped. A moment later, Blake concentrated and the sky became alight with lightning striking between two layers of clouds.

With their surroundings now lit, they immediately saw that the cave Tobi had went into was now a mound of rocks and dirt.

"He collapsed the cave on himself," Tori realized, gasping.

Hunter streaked over and was the first to begin tossing rocks aside, digging through the rubble.

"How do we find him in all this?" Blake asked, gesturing to the mountain of dirt as he helped his brother.

"Dustin—that other Dustin," Shane began, "he'd be able to see through the dirt and even move through it."

Hunter's digging slowed as he fought back tears.

"I'll get him," the other dimension's Tori offered.

"We don't need him," Hunter growled out, causing her to pause.

"I don't care if _you_ don't need him," she snapped. "The bastard owes us—and my brother." She then left.

The remaining Tori put a hand on Hunter's shoulder, trying in vain to sooth his tensed muscles. He just turned, revealing a tear-streaked face lit by flashes of lightning before continuing his digging. She lowered her hand and joined him.

* * *

As the other dimension's Tori approached her dimension's rangers, she noticed her dimension's Dustin limping along. "Go on ahead," she told the others. "I'll help Dustin."

"You're not gonna beat the crap out of him again, are you?" her dimension's Hunter asked skeptically.

"No," she promised and her dimension's Shane gestured for them to continue without her.

"And, Dustin," she said, "this will go smoother if you keep your mouth shut."

He nodded in agreement as the other dimension's rangers continued along the beach until they could see this dimension's ranger digging.

"Do we help them?" the other dimension's Blake asked, looking at his dimension's Shane.

That Shane looked torn, so his dimension's Cam spoke up. "If we don't, T will totally tear us apart," he said, referring to his dimension's Tori.

"I hear that," the other dimension's Hunter agreed as his dimension's Shane nodded and they joined the digging.

* * *

Tobi awoke to find himself hovering weightless above a mountain of dirt and rocks. He looked at his hands and saw right through his glowing semi-transparent palms and he knew he was dead… again.

"TZT…" a familiar voice whispered and Tobi could feel himself want to cry, but no tears came. Instead, he looked up to see Dustin. He had a concerned expression on his bright face and was staring right at him.

"Dustin?" Tobi whispered back, wanting to run to him but instead suddenly finding himself by his side. He'd almost forgotten the little things about being a spirit.

Tobi fell into Dustin's arms, but it felt soft and fluid, not like two real bodies meeting but like they were both made of clouds. "I love you, Dustin," Tobi told him, still unable to cry. Maybe it was something he couldn't do in his spirit form.

"I love you too, TZT," Dustin replied. "I love you _so_ much."

There two were quiet for a moment as they held each other without the usual warmth or heartbeat. It was a little eerie.

"I'm glad you can see me," Dustin finally whispered, "but why'd you do it?"

Tobi pulled back to see a pained look in Dustin's eyes. "I couldn't live without you," he explained.

Dustin ran a hand through Tobi's hair. "I didn't want you to die," he said with a look that told Tobi he would be crying if he could, but apparently he couldn't either. "I wanted you to be okay."

"But I could never be okay without you," Tobi argued.

Dustin sighed, nodding. "Yeah, dude, I know what you mean, but I didn't wanna see you hurt. It freaked me out. But I guess you were hurt before you made the cave collapse…"

Tobi nodded. "In hindsight, it probably seems kind of selfish, killing myself to be with you."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I'm sure Tori's like going crazy. Both Toris."

"I know," Tobi admitted. "I love them, but I love you more. I guess I love you more than life itself."

"TZT," Dustin whispered before the two were interrupted as the rangers arrived and began digging through the enormous mound of dirt below them. "TZT," Dustin began again, "I want you to be happy no matter what. You totally deserve that, but I'm worried about the others."

Tobi watched their faces as they dug at the seemingly endless amount of dirt and rocks in front of them. "So am I," he agreed.

"You always were kinda crazy," Dustin added. "Guess I should've seen this coming."

"We're not all psychic like Skyla," Tobi offered.

Dustin grinned. "Yeah. How cool is that? I saw how she like saw things coming."

"So, you… followed me?" Tobi asked.

"I couldn't leave you if I wanted," Dustin replied. "And I _so_ don't wanna."

Tobi smiled. "You're like my guardian angel, my _earth_ angel."

"Earth angel," Dustin repeated, snickering. "Totally." He reached out to touch Tobi's chin and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked.

"It doesn't feel the same," Dustin explained. "Nothing does. I can touch you but it's like you're not real or I'm not real or we're both not real. And, dude, have you noticed thre's like no smells at all and I can't get hungry."

"Or cry," Tobi added.

Dustin nodded. "Yeah, noticed that too. Seriously never thought I'd _want_ to cry."

"It helps sometimes," Tobi agreed.

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled.

"But, hey, you'll never stink," Tobi offered. "Like that first day we met when you took off your shirt and I passed out from the smell. Though, maybe it was also seeing you shirtless."

Dustin giggled. "Yeah, I think it's my awesome body." He cocked his head to the side. "But, okay, dude, I do stink sometimes." He paused. "Or did. So, no more pizza _or_ ice cream, not just pizza ice cream."

"Yeah, no food," Tobi mumbled, looking back to the others.

"You wonder why Zurgane didn't end up like us?" Dustin asked.

Tobi turned back to him, surprised. "Maybe there's an Abyss of Evil in this dimension too and he went there, like Zordon went there back in my dimension."

Dustin frowned. "You think Lothor knows that?"

"I hope not," Tobi told him before staring into his eyes. Transparent brown just wasn't quite the same. And, a consequence of never being hungry, they couldn't make him crave chocolate even if they were solid. "Dustin, I tried to bring you back. I tried… but there wasn't even a strand of life in the ashes."

"Dude, I know," Dustin said softly, holding him closer. "It was kinda stupid of me really. I thought about trying to escape, but then I was like, TZD's an earth ninja too, so he'd just follow me, but, you know, maybe while he was trying to catch me again, we'd've missed Zurgane."

"I don't know," Tobi said. "I think Zurgane came there to kill one of you just like he was waiting at the beach for me."

"Yeah," that scared me, TZT," Dustin said seriously. "I stood between you too, but his attacks just went right through me. But, like you didn't even need me. You took him down all by yourself. I thought it was pretty awesome, but…" His eyes fell. "It didn't make you happy."

"No, it didn't," Tobi agreed. "It was just revenge and revenge couldn't bring you back."

Dustin nodded in agreement. "You know the first thing I thought when I died?" he suddenly asked.

"Uh, oh no I'm dead?" Tobi suggested.

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Nah, I didn't even know I was dead. See, I couldn't decide between trying to go underground and trying to split in two and I only had like a second, so I did both. Problem was, I also tried to push TZD out of the way."

"Why'd you do that?" Tobi interrupted.

"'Cause I thought you'd be really sad if he died," Dustin explained. "That thing he did with pretending to be me was pretty whack though." He looked away suddenly, noticing something.

"Totally," Tobi agreed, following Dustin's gaze. His sister was arriving with the other dimension's Dustin.

"TZT, why can't you love him?" Dustin asked, still watching the other Dustin approach.

"Because he's not you," Tobi replied simply.

"But, when me and you were in my room, you said me and him were the same except for _unimportant_ thins," Dustin explained.

"Oh," Tobi realized. "Yeah, I remember that." He paused, thinking. As he did so, he could see the others move aside for the other Dustin, except for Hunter, who kept digging. "I think it's because I thought that I loved the Dustin I grew up with. But I could never admit I was in love, even to myself, until I met you. I guess it was kinda a slow process, but I started figuring out that what I feel for you was separate from what I used to feel for him. You two may look the same to my eyes, but my heart says you're two totally different people."

"I'm glad you love me," Dustin replied, "but I kinda feel sorry for TZD."

"I thought you wanted to hurt him for hurting me," Tobi reminded him.

"I don't think I needed to hurt him," Dustin said, gesturing toward the other Dustin. "Check out his face."

Tobi looked over to see a complex array of emotions, from anguish to guilt to determination, playing out on the other Dustin's face as he searched.

"He's over here," that Dustin announced, passing through the dirt and out of sight.

"He was telling the truth," Dustin continued. "He does love you."

"And now I'm the one who pushed him away, who hurt him and would rather be with someone not completely real than be with him," Tobi realized, covering his face. Unfortunately, he could see through his hands. "How can I blame him for something I did to him?"

Dustin rubbed Tobi's back, which didn't feel as good as it should have. It was just missing something: Life.

At that moment, the other Dustin rose out of the dirt holding Tobi's body in his arms. The others gasped as they approached the bruised and bloody lifeless form.

Tobi's spirit looked from his body up to the other Dustin's face and saw that he was crying.

"Where's his morpher?" Hunter asked, approaching the other Dustin. "He needs the amulet."

The other Dustin didn't say anything. He just handed Tobi's body to Hunter and turned around, vanishing back into the rock.

"Is he…" Tori whispered to Hunter.

"He can't be," the other Tori choked out, grabbing her brother's cold hand. "Tobi, why did you have to do this? I know you loved him, but what about me?" She looked up, adding, "And what about everyone else? That was really stupid," she choked out between tears, "but maybe it's my fault. You always said you loved me and I never said I loved you." She took a breath, wiping her face. "I love you, Tobi. I've always loved you. And I'm proud of who you've become. Now don't throw that away. Come back, little brother."

Tobi watched his sister and felt a surge of guilt. "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him.

The other Dustin emerged from the dirt holding Tobi's gold morpher.

"Put it on him," Hunter ordered and the other Dustin obeyed, attaching the morpher to Tobi's wrist in an unusually gentle fashion.

"Thank you," this dimension's Tori told him.

He just blinked, staring at Tobi's body as the Sun Amulet began to glow.

"No!" Tobi shouted, but again none of them could hear his spirit.

Meanwhile, the cuts, bruises and broken bones began to heal on his body.

The tug was sudden and sharp. Tobi could feel his spirit form being yanked back to his body. "No!" he shouted again, holding tightly onto Dustin, which only resulted in pulling Dustin with him. "Don't let go!" he begged.

"I won't," Dustin promised, "but, TZT, they want you back."

"I can't leave you, not again," Tobi insisted, the pull threatening to yank him right out of Dustin's arms. If he could cry, he definitely would have been. "I love you!"

"I love you too, TZT," Dustin said as the lower half of Tobi's spirit form suddenly bent upward, entering his body. This left just his upper half still clinging tightly to Dustin's spirit.

"Dustin," Tobi whimpered as he chest was sucked back, forcing him to only have spirit arms.

Dustin promptly tightened his grip on what he could still hold. "I'll always be with you," he whispered.

"No, Dustin," Tobi begged, now only his spirit hands able to hold onto Dustin. Their spirit fingers intertwined. "I love you, Dustin. I'll find a way to come back to you." He could feel his fingers starting to slip as his head was being drawn back.

"I'll always love you, TZT," Dustin said, leaning forward and kissing Tobi's lips with his own barely real ones, "but if you love me, don't come back. Life for them and for me and for yourself. Dude, shine like the sun. I'll be… watching."

Tobi could do little more than cry out as his fingers slipped, his head flew back and, in one painful gasping breath, he was back in his body.

He blinked, looking around, but he could no longer see Dustin. And now that he could cry, that's what he did. He tilted his head, crying heavily onto Hunter's shoulder. He reached out, hitting him feebly. "Why'd you have to bring me back? Why?"

He felt a hand run through his hair as one of his sister's voices said, "Because we love you."

Tobi didn't say anything. He just continued to cry as Hunter carried him back to Ninja Ops, the others following. As he walked, Hunter whispered to him, "We're even."

* * *

By the time they returned to Ninja Ops, Tobi had cried himself to sleep in Hunter's arms and the older blonde carried him to the training room, laying him on the cot.

This dimension's Cam insisted on examining Tobi and his morpher, but did his best not to disturb him.

"Are you okay?" Tori whispered to Hunter.

"No, Tor, I'm not okay," he replied somberly, running a hand over his face, "but I'm gonna get some sleep. Keep an eye on Tobi."

"Of course," she agreed as he reached up and touched her hair before stopping himself.

"Goodbye, Tor," he said quietly before leaving.

"I'm worried about him," Blake whispered. "Tobi's not the only one with a death wish right now."

"But Tobi told Hunter not to throw the life he gave him away," she pointed out. "I thought he was over that."

"I heard what he told Tobi on the way back," Blake continued. "He said, 'We're even,' which means he no longer thinks he owes Tobi his life."

"Oh," Tori realized. "Yeah, keep an eye on him. I can't lose anyone more today."

"Yeah," Blake agreed.

She looked at him before wrapping her arms around him. "I miss him," she whispered.

"Yeah, me too," he whispered back.

"He was always there for us, since the three of us were kids together," she continued.

"Yeah," was all Blake could think of to say.

After a moment, the two released and he gave her a long look before leaving to follow his brother. As he did so, he watched the other Tori enter the training room.

"Blake," she said, passing him.

"Tori," he replied, leaving quickly.

This dimension's Tori noticed the other Tori staring as Blake left. "You actually care about him, don't you?"

The other Tori turned to her, forcing a smile. "That's a given. I did have sex with him."

Tori cringed. "Yeah," she mumbled.

"I guess I should apologize for that," the other Tori suggested.

Tori crossed her arms. "Yes you should."

The other Tori sighed. "I'm sorry I slept with your boyfriend. Well, okay, I'm not really sorry I did it, but I'm sorry I hurt you and… I'm sorry I hurt him." She turned back to the exit.

Tori watched her. "If you stare any harder, I'd think you love him."

The other Tori looked back at her sharply. "I'm not in love. I've never been in love, remember?"

"So, how would you know if you were?" Tori asked.

The other Tori paused, thinking. "I don't know. I mean, he is… different from my dimension's Blake. It's like with Tobi and this dimension's Dustin. It's like what I felt was always for this dimension's Blake and the other Blake was a substitute and I never new it until I met the real thing." She noticed Tori's horrified face and quickly added, "But I'm not going to steal your Blake. I'll be a good girl." She smiled for effect.

"I'll hold you to that, you know?" Tori said sternly.

"Yep, I know," the other Tori agreed, patting Tori's back.

Cam stood up, removing his glasses for a moment as he stared down at Tobi. "He'll probably stay asleep for a while, but he's okay. Physically, that is."

"One of us should stay with him tonight," Tori suggested.

"I should go back home so my parents don't worry," Shane suggested.

"Yeah, so should I," Tori agreed. "Maybe I should bring him with me."

"I'll stay with him," the other Tori offered.

"Sure," Tori said slowly, watching her.

"I'll stay in here tonight," Cam offered.

"What about the other versions of us?" Shane asked, gesturing to the training room exit.

"I can keep them in line," the other Tori replied.

"Okay then," Shane said with raised eyebrows. "Let me just say goodbye to Skyla first."

"Goodnight," Tori said. "And, goodnight Tobi," she added, leaving with Shane.

Cam watched her go, a disappointed look in his eyes.

The other Tori shook her head. "You've got it bad for her," she accused.

He returned his glasses to his face rather forcefully. "I just like her," he insisted. "We're friends. Nothing more."

"Though you wish it were more," the other Tori added.

Cam stared at her. "Yes," he finally admitted, "but she's made her feelings clear."

The other Tori smirked. "Guess you Cam's aren't that different after all."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"I've had my dimension's Cam a few times," she explained. "Nothing serious, you know, just for fun."

Cam's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, I see."

She chucked to herself. "We could do it if you want."

He blinked at her for a while. "Uh…" he mumbled. "I mean…" He blinked some more before regaining his composure. "I need to get some sleep. I'll, uh, stay in here. Go check on the others. They're welcome to stay in Ninja Ops. And… I'd appreciate it if you find another room to sleep in."

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't trust me? …Or don't trust _yourself_?"

"I just want to sleep tonight," he said seriously. "Let Tobi sleep in peace too."

She frowned and then shrugged. "Yeah, okay. Goodnight, loverboy." Then she left the training room and Cam let out a long sigh.

* * *

"Dustin, don't leave!" Tobi screamed out, sitting up suddenly on his cot and looking around.

Cam woke up startled and groggily sat up on his cot. "Tobi, are you okay?" he asked, getting up. He approached the long-haired blonde and sat on the cot next to him. "Bad dream?" he asked.

Tobi looked up at Cam. "Not any worse than reality," he replied.

Cam sighed. "There's nothing I can say to make things better, so I guess I shouldn't try."

Tobi stared at his hands. They were no longer transparent and he could feel the warmth and blood flowing through his body. In a way, it was nice to be alive, but he still felt alone. "I saw him," he whispered.

"Who?" Cam asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"I saw Dustin when I was dead," Tobi clarified. "It wasn't the same, being spirits and all, but it was still him. It was still the Dustin I love." He started crying again and buried his head in Cam's chest.

Cam patted Tobi's back awkwardly.

"I wanted to stay with him," Tobi continued between sobs. "I wanted to be with him forever, but you guys wouldn't let me and… and even Dustin wanted me to live."

Cam raised an eyebrow in surprise, but he didn't say anything.

"I know it was selfish to make everyone freak out about me, but I just don't know how to do it without him," Tobi explained, pulling back and wiping his face. He looked around the room. "He said he would stay with me," like he did before."

"So, you're saying he's here now?" Cam asked, following his gaze around the room. "In spirit form?"

Tobi nodded. "But I can't see him. And neither can Skyla."

"And I threw the Gem of Souls into the ocean," Cam added.

Tobi looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about? I used the Gem of Souls to defeat Zordon."

"I mean this dimension's Gem of Souls," Cam explained. "It's how Hunter and Blake first saw their parents' spirits. In the other dimension, the same thing happened when your spirit was reunited with your body."

"Oh, Tobi realized. "I guess I feel a little better now that I know he's with me, even if he's invisible."

"That makes sense," Cam agreed. "Part of me was hoping you wouldn't see Dustin, that there was some mistake and he was really alive." Tobi was quiet, so he continued, asking, "So… he can hear you now?"

"Yeah," Tobi nodded, adding, "I love you, Dustin."

"Uh," Cam mumbled, looking around. "Dustin, I…" He blinked at the empty room. "I'm sorry," he said. "You were like the younger brother I never had. I know at first I was a little… demeaning toward you, but once I got to know you better, I found you were… clever and… I learned to care about you a lot. I might even say, I learned to love you." He could see out of the corner of his eye Tobi give him a surprised look, so he added, "I mean, as a brother. And not necessarily Hunter and Blake brothers. I wouldn't have licked your nipples." He fidgeted nervously. "I, uh, mean…"

Tobi patted Cam's arm. "I think he understands," he whispered. "Though he's probably laughing now."

Cam nodded, his cheeks flushed.

"What time is it?" Tobi asked.

Cam looked at his watch. "Almost five thirty."

"In the morning?" Tobi asked, shocked.

"You can go back to sleep if you want," Cam offered, standing and stretching. "I'm going to see what I can do about the Zord Bay."

Tobi stood up and hugged him. "Thanks for staying with me last night, Cam."

"Anytime," Cam replied, still blushing. "Well, goodnight I suppose."

Tobi released him, nodding. "Yeah," he mumbled, looking around the room again.

"Tobi, I'm glad you're alive," Cam said. "And so are the others."

Tobi sighed. "I know," he replied quietly. "It's not that I don't want to be alive. I like the feelings, the senses. It's just… I miss Dustin."

Cam nodded. "So do I." He watched as Tobi sat on his cot and stared at the training room wall. He looked like he was waiting for Dustin to suddenly appear. Cam decided to reach out and pat Tobi's shoulder before leaving the room.

Tobi turned, surprised, and watched him go. Once he was gone, Tobi turned back to the empty room. "Dustin, I don't want you to feel alone," he said outloud. "Just know I'll never stop talking to you. Just pretend… just pretend I can hear you too." Then he covered his face with his hands and cried.

* * *

Cam entered the main room of Ninja Ops and started up the computer. It was early and he knew he could probably use more sleep, but he also knew the others would be asking for the Zords if Lothor attacked again and it was unfair to Tobi to constantly rely on him, especially in his current state. There might come a time when Tobi couldn't save the day.

"Is Tobi okay?" a voice asked Cam, startling him.

He spun around to see Dustin and, at first, his eyes widened and he felt such a sense of relief and joy, until he remembered the other Dustin. He promptly removed his glasses and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"I heard him scream," Dustin continued.

"He's doing about as well as is to be expected," Cam replied, returning his glasses to his face.

Dustin pouted. "I feel really bad about everything. Is he going to hate me forever?"

"You'll have to ask him that," Cam suggested, though I don't think he hates you. Tori told me he set you on fire by accident."

Dustin nodded weakly before looking at the screen. "You can't bypass the bay's hydraulics that way," he interrupted. "I reconfigured the interface." He reached in front of Cam, typing on the keyboard.

Cam backed off, slightly annoyed. "So, uh, you said you have an alternative to using Zords?" he asked.

Dustin finished what he was doing before turning back to Cam. "The device this dimension's Lothor uses to make aliens grow is called a Personal Alien Manager, or PAM," he explained.

"Yes, I know," Cam replied. "Marah and Kapri traded it away one time and a boy ended up playing with it like it was a game."

"Oh," Dustin replied, thinking. "Then that's an idea. "See, I figured we only need to steal the device and Lothor won't be able to make aliens grow, which forces Zord battles. Marah and Kapri can sneak onto his space ship without being suspected and steal the PAM."

"I see," Cam said, thinking before looking at Dustin. "I was wondering, though, why you made Zords, especially with what Tobi told me about his past."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. "I explained this to him. Hunter told me he and Blake were going to be getting Zords from their parents, so I thought they'd use them to smash the city unless I created Zords to battle with instead. Like robot battles where you build your own robot to fight someone else's robot."

"I remember those," Cam agreed. "I actually built my own robot to compete, even though my father didn't approve."

"Really?" Dustin asked, surprised. "Mine had this electromagnet that could short out the other robot but its own processor was shielded, so it wasn't affected. It won first prize, actually."

Can couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Dustin asked.

"It's just, for a moment there, you reminded me of him," Cam said.

"Him? Oh, _him_," Dustin realized.

"The way you explained things was almost like the excited way Dustin would explain modifications to his bike," Cam explained, blinking as his eyes grew moist.

"Oh," Dustin realized. "Thanks, Cam."

"For what?" Cam asked, wiping his eyes inconspicuously.

"For being the one person who actually seems to like me," Dustin replied.

"As I said, I just care," Cam told him.

"Do you think Tobi will ever…" Dustin began, biting his lip.

"Love you?" Cam suggested.

"Yeah," Dustin agreed.

"I don't know," Cam replied. "There's nothing quite like first love."

"I thought I was his first love," Dustin suggested.

"No," Cam disagreed, "but maybe you could be his second. After all, had he never come here, he probably would have eventually fallen in love with you."

Dustin nodded. "And your Dustin would be alive."

"Unless Zurgane killed him anyway," Cam pointed out. "Tobi did manage to get rid of Lothor's top general. And… I like having him around."

"Yeah, he starts to grow on you," Dustin agreed.

"Like a plant," Cam added.

"And I used to treat him like a weed," Dustin added.

"You can change that," Cam suggested before realizing something. "Air, water and earth. What's missing from that?"

"Is this a riddle?" Dustin asked, confused.

"I mean, what else do plants need to grow?" Cam clarified.

Dustin thought about that. "Sunlight?" he suggested.

"Exactly," Cam replied. "Tobi was always meant to be a Wind ninja and a ranger."

Dustin gave him a surprised look. "Because he has the power of sunlight?"

"Yes," Cam agreed.

"And that makes it so he can heal people or burn them," Dustin realized outloud. "But why didn't Sensei see that he was meant to be both a ninja and a Power Ranger?"

"Even a ninja master can be wrong sometimes," Cam suggested.

Dustin patted his shoulder. "You're his son. You can be the one to tell him that. But duck when he raises his little hands, Cam."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cam said, shaking his head and returning his attention to the screen.

* * *

Tori woke up to find she was in her own room, the first rays of sunlight shining in through her window. The way the sunlight danced through the leaves of the tree outside her window made the blue walls of her room look like they were shimmering with an underwater reflection.

She reached up, feeling her face. Apparently she had been crying in her sleep. The was a knock at her door and she quickly wiped her eyes. "Come in," she said.

Her door opened to reveal her younger sister, who had a concerned expression on her face.

"Ali," Tori greeted. "Good morning. Are mom and dad up?"

"Dad's making breakfast," Ali replied, approaching her sister. "Are you okay, Tori? You look like crap."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Ali."

"Just being honest," she said, sitting on the bed next to Tori. "Does it have to do with Tobi?"

"Kind of," she agreed, shrugging.

"About him being… a Power Ranger?" Ali added.

Tori stared at her for a moment. "Look, Ali, I'm sure he was just joking with you."

"So you're gonna pretend you don't know?" Ali accused. "Because I _saw_ him as a Power Ranger, the Gold Power Ranger. I guess he's new, being from another dimension and all."

"Oh," Tori mumbled as she searched her mind for an explanation.

"So, I guess that means you must be the blue Power Ranger," Ali continued.

Tori stared at her, horrified. "That's silly," she insisted. "Just because I happen to like the color blue—"

"Tobi had one of those fancy watches like you and I heard you talk to him through it," Ali explained. "You told him a monster was attacking and he said he'd be there. Next thing I know, he's a Power Ranger trying to save us."

Tori's head fell. "Ali, have I ever told you you're too smart for your own good?"

"A few times," Ali agreed with a smirk. "But you can say it again if you want."

"You can't tell mom or dad," Tori said earnestly.

"Why not?" she asked. "My sister's a Power Ranger!"

"Shh," Tori warned.

"Can I be the pink ranger?" Ali asked. "There's no pink one yet."

"Ali, listen to me," Tori said seriously. "You know how mom worries about me getting hurt surfing? Imagine if she knew I fought kelzaks and monsters on a regular basis."

"Yeah, total freak out," Ali realized.

"Exactly," Tori replied.

"So, where is Tobi anyway?" Ali asked. "I was gonna get mom and dad to buy me a car if he gets my room."

"He's sleeping at… a friend's house," Tori explained hastily.

"I like him," Ali said. "Plus, he said he's dating Dustin and I so want a photo of that for my blog, Alicat's Cutest Couples."

Tori choked, trying to fight back tears. "Ali, I need to get ready. Go help dad," she said quickly, turning her head away.

"Tori, what's wrong?" Ali asked, concerned. "Is it Tobi? Or Dustin?"

Tori just nodded, blinking away tears. "Dustin's…" She then began to cry on her younger sister's shoulder.

"Is he hurt?" Ali asked, worried.

Tori was silent until her morpher started beeping. She pulled away, wiping her eyes. "That's my alarm. I need to get ready."

Ali crossed her arms. "I already know it's a secret Power Ranger communicator."

Tori sighed, pressing a button on her morpher. "Tori here," she greeted unenthusiastically.

"Tor," came Blake's voice, full of concern. "It's Hunter…"

"What's wrong with Hunter?" Tori asked, quickly jumping off the bed and throwing some jeans and a t-shirt on.

"He's gone," Blake explained. "I think he's going to do something stupid."

"Where are you?" she asked, putting on her shoes.

"I'm at the apartment," Blake answered.

"Tell the others," she called. "I'm on my way."

"So, Blake's a Power Ranger too?" Ali asked, surprised..

"Ali, I have to go," Tori said seriously. "Please just keep the whole Power Ranger stuff to yourself. I love you and I'm counting on you." She then ran out of the bedroom, streaking across town.

* * *

After falling back to sleep for a short while, Tobi shuffled his way into the main room of Ninja Ops, where he found the others gathered around Cam's computer.

"I found him," Cam announced, talking to an image of Blake on the screen. "Blake, I'm feeding the coordinates to your morpher."

"I'm coming too," Tori's voice called as she briefly appeared on the screen before Cam began tracking their movements on a map.

"What's going on?" Tobi asked, approaching.

"Blake says Hunter snuck out during the night and now he thinks…" Shane began, glancing at Cam.

"Tobi, are you feeling up to coming with me right now?" Cam asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, sure," Tobi agreed, confused.

"Great," Cam replied. "Shane, keep an eye on the others while we're gone."

"Right," Shane agreed.

"Don't be afraid to wake my father if you need him," Cam added. "I think he may already be doing his morning mediation. Come on, Tobi," he added, heading toward the exit.

Tobi gave Shane a confused look as he passed while following Cam. But, on their way out, they ran into the other dimension's Dustin and Tobi had to look away suddenly.

"I'd like to help if I can," Dustin offered.

Cam looked at Tobi and then back to Dustin. "I don't think that would be a good idea." He then stepped around him.

"I'm sorry again, Tobs," Dustin offered Tobi as he passed.

Tobi let himself look at Dustin. The face, the eyes, they were so familiar and he found himself wanting to hug him, but he knew this wasn't the same Dustin. Still, he just had to say, "I'm sorry too." Then he left.

* * *

Blake was the first to spot his brother lying motionless next to a large rock atop a hill. He ran toward him, yelling, "No! Hunter!"

Tori covered her mouth, fighting back more tears as she ran with him.

Blake streaked to his brother's side, lifting the blonde and shaking him. "Bro, don't do this to me!"

"Is he okay?" Tori asked nervously.

Hunter groaned, opening his eyes. "Bro, stop it."

Blake immediately hugged him as Tori kneeled and joined the hug. "Hunter, you're alive."

"Of course I'm alive," Hunter said slowly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you'd try to off yourself because of Dustin," Blake explained.

"Blake told me you told Tobi you were even now," Tori added.

"Because we are," Hunter replied, glancing between them. "I just came out here to be alone and think, not to kill myself. I guess I dozed off."

"Your brooding spot," Blake realized. "I should have thought about that."

"So… you're not feeling suicidal?" Tori asked.

At that moment, Cam and Tobi arrived, both looking worried.

"False alarm," Blake told them.

"False alarm for what?" Tobi asked.

"They thought I was going to try to kill myself," Hunter explained, glancing at his brother.

"Oh, because you loved Dustin too," Tobi realized.

"And probably because it would make sense," Hunter added, looking down. "I actually thought about it too."

The others gave him horrified looks.

"But I came out here to clear my head so I wouldn't do something I regret," he clarified. "It's just that everyone I've ever loved has died. It's hard not to think I'm cursed, just like last time."

"Last time?" Cam asked.

"Bro, you sure you're ready to tell this?" Blake asked, concerned.

Hunter rubbed a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm over it. It's a good thing too, because Dustin's death really hit me. I started thinking I was cursed all over again."

"Wait, start from the beginning," Tori insisted. "Is this about your parents dying?"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't stop with them. There was this girl I met freshman year. Her name was Jazmine and I loved her."

"You loved a girl?" Tobi asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I've loved girls before," Hunter told him, unable to keep from glancing at Tori. "Anyway, Jaz and I were… intimate."

"That's the girl you had sex with," Tobi realized.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "Everything was going fine until I said something stupid. Let's just say Blake's not the only Bradley who can stick his foot in his mouth. That's actually why I started thinking before I speak."

"Or not saying anything and just brooding," Blake added.

Hunter nodded. "So, she left and I knew I was wrong, so I followed her because I had to apologize…" His eyes began to water.

"Hunter, what happened?" Tori asked, concerned. She wrapped an arm around him for support.

"I guess she wasn't paying attention to where she was going," Hunter continued, choking back tears. "All she could probably see was that stupid smug look I had on my face before she left." This time, he couldn't hold back the tears and they flowed as he continued. "She was hit by a car, but she didn't die right away. I found her and… I tried to save her using the techniques Sensei Omino taught us, but all I was doing was prolonging her suffering. In the end, she still died." He covered his face with his hands as Tori held him tighter.

"I found him in the bathtub," Blake added, his arms joining Tori's. "He had slit his wrists and electrocuted himself using the power of lightning. The water was all red," he added, tears in his eyes.

"Crimson," Hunter corrected, his face still covered.

"So, you thought you were cursed because those you cared about the most died?" Cam asked.

Hunter nodded, lowering his hands. "I didn't want anyone else to die because of me."

"And then, when Dustin…" Tobi began, kneeling in front of Hunter. "It must have been like loving someone caused them to…" He shook his head. "Hunter, it's not your fault."

"I know," Hunter replied. "I did briefly wonder if Blake or Tori might be next, but I managed to convince myself that I can't think like that. I can't abandon everybody because of some superstition that says everyone I love will eventually die."

Blake breathed a sigh of relief, patting his brother's shoulder.

"Why did you think I might be next?" Tori asked.

"Oh, I…" Hunter mumbled. "You know I care about you."

"You said you thought people you _love_ were in danger," she pointed out.

"He did say that," Cam agreed, thinking.

"Bro?" Blake asked, turning his brother to face him.

Hunter tried to avoid Blake's gaze.

"He loves her," Tobi realized.

"Bro, I thought…" Blake began, a frustrated look on his face as Tori looked extremely embarrassed. "Are you sure it's _love_?"

Hunter sighed, looking at Tori. "Yeah, it's love."

"Hunter, I…" Tori began before noticing Blake staring at her, a panicked look in his eyes. "I love you both."

"You do?" Hunter asked, surprised.

"I thought you didn't think you _loved_ strawberry," Blake insisted. "Tor…"

"I'm sorry," she replied. "It doesn't change how I feel about you. And, yes, I _love_ you too. I always felt _something_ for both of you."

"You can love two people at the same time?" Tobi asked, shocked.

Cam placed a hand on Tobi's shoulder as he leaned over. "Yes, Tobi, you can."

"Maybe there's some hope for you and the other Dustin," Tori suggested to Tobi.

Tobi frowned, glaring at her.

"Too soon," Cam whispered to her.

Tobi turned to Cam. "Too soon as in never," he snapped, standing. "I'm never going to give up on Dustin—my Dustin. He's right here now and he can hear everything we say. Just because we can't see him doesn't mean he's not real. He _is_ real and I still love him and that will never, ever, ever change… even if I do feel _something_ for the other Dustin." He then stomped off.

"Tobi, I didn't mean…" Tori began before turning back to the others. "I just meant that he could _also_ love the living Dustin."

"_Eventually_," Cam added.

"He doesn't know that now," Hunter said, "but he'll love again."

Blake looked at his brother. "And so will you. Another guy," he clarified, looking at Tori protectively. "How about Cam? You said you like him."

"Blake, you can't make someone love someone else," Tori interrupted, standing. "And I'm going after Tobi."

Hunter glanced between Cam and Blake. "We'll all go," he said quickly, joining her. "And, bro, you're a guy and I love you."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Let's just get Tobi before he goes all Hunter on us."

Hunter hit Blake lightly.

"I just meant the brooding part," Blake defended.

"I know what you meant," Hunter said, "but Tobi isn't a brooder. He's a doer."

"Then we definitely need to follow him," Cam suddenly insisted and the others nodded. "I'll go to Ninja Ops to track him."

"We'll split up and look," Blake told him. "Call whoever's closest when you find him."

Cam nodded, glancing between the three with a slightly pained expression before leaving.

"Is he okay?" Tori asked. "Maybe I should go with him."

Blake looked at her sharply. "Don't tell me you're in love with Cam too."

Tori rolled her eyes. "I do _care_ about him. And, if I did love him, would you have a problem with that?"

Hunter mouthed "foot in mouth" to his brother and Blake nodded. "No, course not," he mumbled. "Love who you want."

Hunter looked between Tori and his brother. "I'll go check on Cam," he offered. Turning to go, he added over his shoulder, "Love you guys."

Tori and Blake both exchanged surprised looks.

* * *

"Going somewhere?" a voice called from behind Tobi as he walked through the woods outside Blue Bay Harbor. He turned around to see his sister.

"Are you following me?" he accused.

"Yes I am," she said boldly, approaching him and slinging an arm around his shoulder. "You know you'd be hopelessly lost without me."

"Guess I know which Tori you are," he replied.

"I think the other me would follow you too," she said. "She worries about you as much as I do."

"Maybe more," he suggested.

She sighed loudly. "Tobi, I know I don't tell you this, but I should have a long time ago. I love you and I'm proud that you became a ninja and a Power Ranger."

"Thanks," he mumbled. "I love you too."

She smiled. "So, where we heading?"

"We?" he asked. "_I'm_ headed for the beach. Cam said he threw this dimension's Gem of Souls into the ocean and I thought maybe, if I concentrated, I could sense where it is."

"You can do that?" she asked, surprised.

"I won't know until I try," he replied. "I know how to see the life force in things and the gem has a life force of its own. It's what I used to defeat Zordon. He was stripped of his powers."

"So you really did that," she said quietly. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. You're pretty amazing. Sorry for not seeing it sooner."

"No one else did, not even me, so why should you have seen it?" he asked.

"Because you're my twin brother," she answered. "You have to be at least as amazing as me."

Tobi shook his head. "Uh huh," he mumbled.

"So, what do you plan on doing with this Gem of Souls?" she asked.

"Try to see him again," he replied with a sigh. "It brought me back to life. But, I had a body and his is…" He looked down, stumbling a little as he walked, but his sister kept him steady. "You know, he said he was trying to go underground _and_ split in two."

"Split in two?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wonder about that too," he said. "I want to ask him. I have a lot to ask him." He paused. "Cam said that the Gem of Souls made it so everyone could see the spirits. It's worth a try."

"Yeah, sure, why not?" she replied.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's never stopped me before."

He rolled his eyes as the two approached the beach.

"So, what do we do first?" she asked as they stared across the ocean.

"I'm going to try to search the ocean by leaving my body like I did when Sensei taught me how to meditate," he explained. "I could sense a lot of things then and I think I'm better able to control it now, so I'm hoping I don't catch on fire this time."

"You caught on fire?" she gasped.

"But you'll put me out and the Sun Amulet will recharge my energy while I heal myself," he assured her.

"Tobi, this really sounds like a stupid idea," she said, crossing her arms.

"If you have some other way for me to see him again, tell me," he insisted. When she didn't reply, he said, "That's what I thought. Just… I have to try this."

She shook her head. "I wish you could just love our Dustin."

"I know," he replied, looking at the ocean.

She shrugged, reluctantly agreeing, "Fine, but how do I snap you out of it if I need to?"

Tobi paused, thinking. "I don't know. Just shake me or something."

"You really know how to scare your sister, you know little brother?" she replied.

"Just put me out if I start to burn," he told her before closing his eyes and concentrating. He tried to remember exactly what Sensei had taught him. That day, he'd been able to see outside Ninja Ops and all the way to the coast. This time, he just needed to see the ocean floor for a few miles.

He let his consciousness stretch out until he felt weightless as he stretched his mind out farther, feeling the sand, the sky and the seemingly endless amount of water in front of him. What he didn't anticipate was that he sensed all the fish in the ocean, or rather the life in all the fish. So, he tried to remember what the fragments of the Gem of Souls felt like that night he threw them at Zordon.

He was starting to feel overwhelmed with all he was sensing, so he tried to pull himself back into his body to get his bearings. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to figure out how to do that. So, instead, he just tried to hold the part of himself he was projecting out into a smaller area. As he did, he felt his consciousness form into a spirit. Even though he wasn't dead, apparently it's how the only way his consciousness knew how to contain itself in a small area outside the body.

Now able to look at one thing at a time, he saw his sister dousing his body with water while also shaking him. "Tori, use my morpher to call Sensei," he told her before realizing she couldn't hear him.

And, at that moment, getting his sister's attention suddenly became unimportant. Because, at that moment, he heard Dustin's voice say, "TZT…"

* * *

Cam glanced over to see Hunter following him as he made his way back to Ninja Ops. "I thought you could use some company," Hunter called.

Cam gave him a surprised look. "I thought you were the one who we were worried about."

"None of us are really okay right now," Hunter replied, catching up to him.

Cam nodded. "But some of us are more loved than others."

Hunter grinned nervously. "Look, Cam, I didn't know she actually _loves_ me."

"I suppose it's possible she only said that so you'd feel better," Cam theorized outloud.

Hunter's face immediately fell.

"Or not," Cam added as they approached Ninja Ops. "Hunter, I..."

"What's _he_ doing out here?" Hunter suddenly growled.

Cam looked up to see the other dimension's Dustin standing outside Ninja Ops, staring at the charred grass. "Did you expect him to leave?"

Hunter groaned. "I guess not, but he looks just like Dustin. It makes me feel insane. I want to punch him in the face for what he did, but I also want to run up and kiss that same face."

"I can see why that would be confusing," Cam replied.

"Yeah," Hunter breathed as they descended down into Ninja Ops.

"Cam, is Tobi okay?" hippy Marah asked the moment Cam entered the main room.

Cam glanced at Hunter. "I think he will be, _eventually_."

"Good, because Skyla thinks he's in trouble," Marah finished.

Cam sprinted the remaining distance to the computer and immediately began searching.

"Where is he?" Hunter asked as Cam typed.

"He's at the beach near where we found him," Cam began.

"I'm on it," Hunter announced, spinning in his tracks.

"The other Tori's with him, so I doubt he's trying to kill himself in front of her," Cam added. "I would imagine they have a lot to talk about."

"And I guess you're okay," Shane told Hunter.

Hunter shrugged. "More or less," he agreed before noticing the other dimension's Dustin entering Ninja Ops. He promptly grimaced.

"Tori told Hunter she loves him and Blake," Cam said flatly without looking away from the computer.

Shane raised an eyebrow toward Hunter. "Guess you're lucky you're his bro or you'd be—" he began, making a slicing gesture with his hand across his neck before stopping himself. "Yeah, not a good time for killing jokes."

Hunter nodded as cam looked up briefly. "I told Tobi I threw the Gem of Souls into the ocean. You don't suppose that he's gone looking for the pieces?"

"You mean, so he could see Dustin?" Shane asked. "Like we saw your parents?" he added to Hunter.

Hunter nodded again, his eyes darting around. "Yeah."

"But can't the gem also put a spirit back in a body?" Shane asked.

"We don't have a body to put him in," Cam pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Shane replied.

Hunter glanced at the other Dustin before turning back to Cam. "I, uh, have to go do something," he said quickly. "Tell Blake and Tori where Tobi is," he added, turning to go.

"Sure," Cam agreed, giving him a confused look before looking around. "Has anyone seen Circuit? And my father should be up by now."

At that moment, the other dimension's Cam, grumpy Sensei and his wife entered the room, laughing. "Alright, so the dog collar was probably too much, but you crawled around on all fours and plus you were constantly getting into trouble," grumpy Sensei said.

"Totally different than your father," Cam's mother accused.

"I may have been a trouble maker in my youth, but I like to think I matured over the years," grumpy Sensei defended.

"And shrank," the other Cam added, earning him a high five from his mother as grumpy Sensei glared at them.

This dimension's Cam turned around quickly, focusing his attention on relaying Tobi and his sister's position to Tori and Blake.

Shane noticed Cam wince each time the alternate Cam and family laughed. "Are you jealous?" he asked quietly.

Cam at him, surprised. "No," he said quickly. "I understand that things are different between me and my father and I didn't really know my mother."

Shane patted Cam's shoulder.

Cam turned his attention back to his computer and tried to tune everything else out.

Meanwhile, the other dimension's Dustin watched Hunter as he hesitantly approached the surviving earth ninja. "I… want to talk to you," Hunter said slowly.

Dustin gave him a surprised look before smiling.

"Let's go outside," Hunter suggested and Dustin immediately tensed. "I'm not gonna beat you up," he promised.

Dustin grinned nervously before following Hunter out.

Once the two were on the surface, Hunter turned to Dustin. He stared at his face, blinking before taking a deep breath. "You love Tobi, right?" he began.

Dustin nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Good," Hunter said, pacing nervously. "And you'd do anything to make him happy, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Dustin agreed, confused. "Where're you going with this?"

Hunter let his eyes meet Dustin's for a moment. "You look just like him, but you're not him."

"I know," Dustin groaned. "I was someone back in my dimension. Now I just happen to look like someone."

Hunter looked down, silent for a moment as he thought. "I'll admit that I don't really know you, but I don't really want to know you right now."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled.

"So…" he continued. "There's something called a Gem of Souls. Well, it's in pieces, so I don't know if it would work, but with Tobi's help it just might."

"Work to do what?" Dustin asked.

"To put Dustin's soul in your body," Hunter finished.

Dustin's eyes widened before he realized, "What would happen to my soul?"

Hunter shrugged, gesturing around. "I guess you'd be like Dustin is now."

"You mean, you want me to die so your Dustin can live?" Dustin asked.

Hunter grimaced when he heard his plan put so bluntly. "I guess so," he said, looking back at Dustin. "Just, if you really love—"

"I'll do it," Dustin interrupted.

"You'll… Oh, okay," Hunter said, surprised.

"I owe him my life," Dustin added.

"I honestly didn't think you'd give in so easily," Hunter replied, admitting, "I thought I'd have to knock you out or something. You're… different than I thought you were."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, "but still not someone anyone can love."

Hunter paused. He was starting to feel doubts about his idea. After all, this Dustin was a real person too and his willingness to sacrifice himself for someone else reminded him of something Tobi would do.

"So, where do we get a Gem of Souls?" Dustin asked.

Hunter shook off his hesitation and took a sharp intake of breath. "Leave that up to me," he said, allowing himself to give into something he'd been wanting to do. He leaned forward and hugged Dustin.

Dustin flinched at first, but then gave into the hug before Hunter quickly released him and began walking. "Where are we going?" Dustin asked.

"To my… 'brooding spot,'" Hunter answered.

"So you have one too?" Dustin commented, earning him a surprised look from Hunter as they walked.

* * *

When Blake and Tori arrived at the beach, they saw Tobi's sister shaking her brother while also dousing him with water from the ocean.

"What's wrong with him?" Tori asked, running up.

"He's in some sort of a trance," Tobi's sister explained. "He wanted to search the ocean for the Gem of Souls by leaving his body, but I can't snap him out of it."

"Why's he smoking?" Blake asked.

"He keeps catching on fire," she explained.

Tori looked down at Tobi's wrist and could see the Sun Amulet on his morpher constantly glowing. "At least the amulet's letting him keep healing himself, but how do we wake him up?"

"What if he doesn't want to wake up?" Blake suggested.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked.

"If he really did leave his body, maybe he can see Dustin now," he suggested.

"Great," Tobi's sister grumbled, soaking her brother again. "I'll be doing this all day."

Tori kneeled next to her. "I'll help," she offered.

"Thanks," Tobi's sister replied. "I'll just dry off a little over here." She then stepped away and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm sure Tobi appreciates what you're doing for him," Blake said, approaching her while Tori stayed by Tobi.

Tobi's sister looked at him, surprised. "I'd do anything for my brother."

Blake nodded, thinking. "Yeah, me too. I mean, with my brother."

She tilted her head, trying to get water out of her ear. "I have to admit, I was a little… self-centered and I ignored him almost as much as the others. But, it's never too late for a fresh start."

"Uh, right," Blake replied.

"And, as much as I liked… _us_," she continued, "I'm glad you and the other me are together. At least I know it's not my looks you resent."

"I don't resent you," Blake corrected. "And…" He lowered his voice. "I liked what we did… a lot."

"But you were thinking of her the whole time," she added.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "That's who I thought you were."

She smiled, pinching his cheek. "You're so gullible. It's adorable."

"Right," he mumbled, frowning.

Just then, Hunter and the other dimension's Dustin landed their ninja streak on the beach.

"What's wrong with Tobi?" Hunter asked as he approached.

"We think he's talking to Dustin," Tori explained.

"A sort of out of body thing," Tobi's sister added.

"Why's he… burning?" the other dimension's Dustin asked slowly.

Tori looked back, surprised to see him with Hunter. "He keeps catching on fire. I'm putting him out and the amulet recharges him when he heals himself."

"All that just so he can see Dustin?" Hunter asked, looking at the other Dustin.

The other Dustin nodded toward the small, dirt-covered sack in Hunter's hands.

"There might be another way," Hunter said, raising the sack and untying it.

"What's that?" Tori asked as the sack opened to reveal…

"The Gem of Souls," Blake recognized. "Where'd you get the pieces? Cam told us he threw them in the ocean."

"I didn't give him all the pieces," Hunter admitted.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Tori asked.

Hunter shook his head. "I thought maybe they'd help me see my parents and… I was going to tell him, but the more time that passed, the harder it became."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," Hunter mumbled. "I hid them out where I go to think and I'd just… look at them sometimes."

"Someone's full of secrets," Tobi's sister commented.

"There's an understatement," Blake agreed.

"Not anymore," Hunter replied. "I'm going to see if Tobi can use these to put Dustin's spirit in… a body."

"What body?" Tori asked. "Dustin was…" She choked at the memory of his ashes.

Hunter looked at the other Dustin.

"My body," Dustin spoke up. "I'll… give it up for him."

The others stared at him in shock.

"This was your idea?" Tori asked Hunter.

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, but this Dustin volunteered."

Tobi's sister approached Dustin. "So, you'd… die?"

Dustin nodded. "But I owe it to Tobi and Dustin, and the others."

She stared at him, blinking. "You've changed… so much. What does this dimension do to people?" She gestured around. "Tobi changed, you changed. Even I've changed."

"We've changed for the better," Dustin suggested.

She shrugged. "I don't know about that. You'd… be dead."

Dustin nodded. "Think of it as a trade."

"We have to discuss this with the others, especially Tobi," she insisted, looking at her brother. "Can you wake him up?"

"I'll try," Hunter replied, approaching Tobi's body and placing the gem fragments on his chest. As they began to glow, light flickered around his body.

Tori gasped, seeing the spirit form of Tobi hovering over his body, leaving behind a spirit form of…

"Dustin?" Tori gasped.

"You can see me?" Dustin's spirit asked, looking at his glowing form.

"Yeah, we can," Hunter breathed. "Dustin, are you… okay?"

"I'm not in like _pain_," Dustin's spirit replied. "Does that count as okay?"

"I guess," Hunter said just as the light flickered again as Tobi's spirit reunited with his body. "Dustin!"

"I miss being able to talk to you guys, especially you Hunter," Dustin's spirit said quickly as he began to fade. "Take good care of TZT for me. Promise that—" And then he was gone.

"I promise," Hunter whispered to thin air as the two Tories gently shook Tobi's body.

"Tobi?" Tori asked.

"We're sorry to interrupt your reunion," his sister added, "but we have something to talk to you about."

Tobi blinked and looked around. "I know," he replied quietly. "We were listening." He looked at his dimension's Dustin. "I know your plan, but Dustin—my Dustin—made me promise not to let you do it."

The others exchanged surprised looks.

"I had to promise him…" Tobi whispered, his eyes filled with tears.

"I know," Hunter mumbled, glancing between Tobi and the other dimension's Dustin.

"Maybe there's another way," Tori suggested.

"Yeah," Tobi replied, turning back to the ocean. "He explained what he did when Zurgane attacked and I wonder…"

"What?" his sister asked.

"Why he didn't survive," Tobi finished. "But at least I know he's always with me no matter what happens." He looked down at the fragments of the Gem of Souls. "And I can use these to get back when I see him again." He then turned back to the other dimension's Dustin. "And he says… he forgives you."

The other Dustin blinked before asking. "What about you, Tobs? Do _you_ forgive me?"

Tobi frowned, looking from Dustin's familiar face down to the gen shards. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"I know he doesn't want me to trade my life for his," the other Dustin began, "but what about you?"

Tobi wiped his eyes before hesitantly admitting, "I'd… I'd be okay with the trade." He gulped as the weight of what he was saying sank in and he could see his answer cover the other Dustin's face like a mask. He was okay with the Dustin he grew up with dying. No wonder Dustin hadn't wanted Tobi to have a choice. The choice… hurt.

"Tobs, you can heal any wound?" the other Dustin asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Tobi replied.

"And, when you're a spirit, you can touch the other me?" the other Dustin continued.

"Yeah, why?" Tobi asked, confused.

The other Dustin had an almost tortured expression as he looked at Tobi. "Tobs, wait to heal my body until I've forced the… the Dustin you love into it."

"What are you talking about?" Tobi asked just as Dustin concentrated and a large chunk of rock flew up from the ground and shot through the air.

The others gasped as the rock stabbed into the living Dustin's chest and he crumbled to the sand.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

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_**Author's Note:**__ Oh no! Another cliffhanger ending! So, TZDustin has a chance to redeem or sacrifice himself. What will happen? Review and tell me what you think. Also, Hunter's maturity doesn't just come with age. He's lived through a lot. Maybe he wasn't always a brooder, but he was probably always a little smug. And the things people do as a result of love… The Perils of Love indeed! Stay tuned for the next installment of the saga! And remember to review with ideas/comments/feedback!_


	37. A Tale of Two Dustins

**Current Poll: **_**Of these pairings, which do you most want to see in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? **_There are now only three options (the top three from the previous poll), meaning I will go with one of those pairing combinations. As you can tell, I plan to keep TZDustin and TZTori in the regular dimension. As always, you can make your opinion known by reviewing!

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**Previous Poll Results: **_**Besides Shane and Skyla, what pairing combination do you want to see in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? **_

**First Place: (5 votes)** Hunter/TZDustin, Tori/Blake, Cam/TZTori, Dustin/Tobi

**Second Place: (3 votes each, tied)** Hunter/Tori, Blake/TZTori, Cam/TZDustin, Dustin/Tobi or Hunter/Dustin, Tori/Blake, Cam/TZTori, Tobi/TZDustin

**Third Place: (2 votes each, tied) **Hunter/Cam, Tori/Blake, Dustin/Tobi or Hunter/Cam, Tori/Blake, Dustin/Tobi/TZDustin or Hunter/Cam, Tori/Blake, Dustin/Marah, Tobi/TZDustin or Hunter/Blake, Tori/Cam, Dustin/Tobi

**Fourth Place: (1 vote each, tied) **Hunter/TZDustin, Tori/Cam, Blake/TZTori, Dustin/Tobi or Hunter/Tori, Blake/TZTori, Cam/TZHunter, Dustin/Tobi

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**Author's Notes: **Sorry for the delay! I wasn't strongly motivated with this chapter, but I was like, "I have to write something!" Also, I've recently discovered that I need to devote less time to this or face very serious consequences. This chapter takes place during the episode "Gem of a Day" but naturally almost nothing that happens in that episode happens in here. It's just a continuity thing. This chapter will not be as… depressing as the last two. In fact, I try to add some humor. And, regarding pairings, it turns out that having everyone care about each other at some point or another works as a bonding element.

**~Winner** for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… **DenialBrigader**! Yay!

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**Review Comments:**

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for pointing out the obvious! Yes, I could just not have Hunter/Cam as an option, but I have a tendency of overcomplicating things (as you probably figured out by how I often write). Fortunately, it turns out that the winning pairing didn't have Hunter/Cam. And, neither did the two runners up, so I created a new poll. I'm hoping the pairings that I end up doing will be… unique (and good). Also, let me know if some part of this chapter doesn't make sense because, honestly, I was really distracted as I wrote it. I know, shame on me!

Thanks **DenialBrigader** for coming up with the interesting idea that I can't mention because then I'd be spoiling this chapter! But it was brilliant and I didn't think of it on my own, so thank you! Your review really has a lot of ideas in it, enough that I have some left over for the next chapter too. It's the Dustin splitting in two and half of him being under the earth that I'm saving to answer for the next chapter. We'll see how that goes. But, your idea of a… spirit sharing (I think I can call it that without spoiling things) turns out to have given me to do a lot more than I thought it would. In fact, if it doesn't turn out to be a permanent solution, it will open up a lot of things indeed… I know, I'm intentionally being vague. I just don't want to spoil things! But, to answer your question about the other dimension not having a yellow ranger, I actually just did it because I needed a ranger to lose their powers and I chose Dustin because him losing his powers would have the strongest impact in the story. But now I guess I can just pretend like I had things planned out all along! Without spoiling too much, I do not plan on having TZDustin go back to the other dimension. And I'm sorry (or was it a good thing?) I made you cry. And, yes, I couldn't have Hunter attempt suicide. People would be like, "What, is everyone trying to kill themselves in this chapter?" A writer needs to know where to draw the line between emotionally impactful and just too much.

Thanks **Ghostwriter** for saying I keep blowing you away! I know in advance that this chapter is not as strong as the last two and I also know I took a long time to get around to writing it, so I apologize for those two things. But, I don't think it's bad or anything! I'm sure you'll still enjoy it. At least, I hope so.

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for saying you loved the last chapter! I don't know if I should apologize for making you cry again or say, "Yay, I succeeded in making an emotionally impactful chapter!" I'll settle for saying that this chapter should not make you cry. I like how you say that Tobi and Dustin seem like soul mates when they talk. I think the same thing, but don't worry, things will work out somehow. I'm glad you'll keep reading the story no matter what pairings end up happening, but I also like your idea that I should choose my own pairings. You're right, I should enjoy what I'm writing, but I also like to make my readers feel like they're involved. Also, if I hadn't had that first paring poll for Dustin, I might have made Tobi and Dustin end up together right away and that would have made the story less interesting. I think so, anyway. Personally, I want to have Hunter/Tori, Blake/TZTori, Cam/TZDustin, Shane/Skyla and Tobi/Dustin. So, I think I'll follow your advice (and because I'm sure you'll like it) and have a bit of that pairing going on for a while longer. I also have a soft spot for Hunter/Blake. At least Hunter didn't end up with Cam again in the last poll, so maybe this new poll I just put up will have something different too. I am willing to do Hunter/TZDustin though too, so I think I should warn you about that. That would allow Cam to end up with TZTori, which is sort of a substitute for Tori. I'll keep thinking about it. Either way, having characters love each other (even if they don't end up together) helps bring the team closer together. And, you wanted good news regarding Dustin and TZD, so… I guess this chapter (sort of) has that!

Thanks **FinalJudgement **for the encouragement and praise for my imaginative surprises! I actually don't always come up with things on my own. That's another thing reviewers can offer. They throw out ideas and I run with them. The surprises are kind of hard, though, since many times people can see some things coming and because I do sometimes use foreshadowing. Still, I try! They're not always like fall out of your seat shocking, but they should keep you reading. And, about you being a coach, I could have said cheerleader since they encourage teams, but that has a negative connotation with it, so coach sounds better! So, you have to be half asleep to bump into things? Strange how I do that all the time… Regarding love pairings, I actually did finally decide on what to do with the other dimension's rangers. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say that there are hints of it hidden in this chapter. As for the main pairings, though, I have my preferences, but I'm open to other options. The new poll only has the three that I'd be willing to do. Well, I kind of wish Cam could end up with Tori, but I have established she doesn't love him, so I guess that wouldn't work. Plus, I can't also have her end up with say Hunter or/and Blake. Alas. Your review (complete with all caps moments) helped encourage me to push out a chapter when I really wasn't strongly motivated, so you have officially done your job! Congratulations!

Thanks **MagicHalo **for coming back and reviewing again! I missed your reviews! Don't worry, I understand that you actually have a life and things to do besides reading fanfiction all the time. I can only imagine you studying my story instead and how your grades would suffer and then it would be all my fault and all I'd have to say for myself is, "Uh, so my story isn't educational?" Now it's my turn to defend myself. I'm not evil! Yes, I came up with the idea of Dustin dying, but it was just an idea that came to me and I thought I'd play it out and see what happens. And, then, when I read it over, it was really a good story, so I was like, "I have to have this!" Sometimes having something really bad happen in a story actually makes the good moments stronger. After all, a story that is always happy wouldn't have nearly the emotional impact. So, no, I don't like drowning puppies. You point out that TZD and Hunter aren't getting closer and this chapter has something happen that will allow TZD and Hunter to get closer in the next chapter. I actually didn't even start writing this chapter until after I read your review. I guess that's what I was waiting for. And, I can't resist Hunter/Blake in any story. I've created a new poll and I've decided that (with the new development in this chapter) there are three pairing combinations I think would work. Hunter/Dustin is one of them, but Hunter/Cam is not. And, yes, you point out that Marah and Kapri need to switch places. So, I tried to include that too, though they'll have to really do their thing in the next chapter because I ran out of time. It was just that I didn't want to overcomplicate things. I've been told that things get confusing in chapters that have too much going on. Even you say things are getting too complicated. It's my hope to have things come together soon, but I don't know when a new idea will come to me and I'll have to run with that. Again, I'm so glad you're back and I hope to read more reviews from you again in the future!

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**After Tobi kills himself, he becomes a spirit and is finally with the spirit of Dustin, but the others use the other dimension's Dustin to rescue Tobi and bring him back to life. Tobi is still broken hearted over Dustin's death, but he's not the only one. The others think Hunter wants to kill himself, but he explains his past and why he's no longer suicidal. Meanwhile, Tobi heads to the beach to find fragments of the Gem of Souls in order to see Dustin again, but it turns out Hunter has the fragments. Hunter asks the other dimension's Dustin if he's willing to sacrifice himself so that the other Dustin can live and he agrees, but Tobi says Dustin's spirit won't let the other Dustin do it. So, the other Dustin asks Tobi how he feels and Tobi says he'd be okay with trading the life of the Dustin he grew up with for the life of the Dustin he loves. A moment later, the other dimension's Dustin causes a rock to stab him through the chest and he crumples over and falls to the sand...**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 37 (A Tale of Two Dustins)**

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The moment Dustin's body fell to the sand, Tobi and Hunter rushed down to him while the two Toris and Blake stared in shock and horror.

"Help me roll him over," Tobi told Hunter, who nodded and the two rolled Dustin onto his back.

A long, sharp chunk of rock was stuck into Dustin's chest. It was stained with crimson streaks of his blood and Tobi was the first to cringe away from the wound.

"How did…?" Tori began, her voice trailing off as she saw the blood.

"It's the power of earth thing," Blake realized as the two Toris knelt over Dustin's body. "He made the rock stab him."

"It's my fault," Tobi whispered, unable to shake off the shock. "I said I'd be okay with a trade. He's going to try to force this dimension's Dustin into his body."

Hunter looked up at him from Dustin's body. "Don't we… don't you want that to happen?" he asked slowly, a serious look in his eyes.

Tobi blinked down at the body of his dimension's Dustin. "I…" he began, staring at Dustin's face. He reached out, pushing a brown curl aside. Of course, it just fell back into place. "I promised him," he whispered. "I can't…" He blinked heavily before standing up. "I'm going to talk to them," he announced, closing his eyes and focusing.

"Tobi, don't!" his sister called just as his body fell over, bursting into flames. "Damn it," she muttered, putting him out.

Hunter looked from Tobi's unconscious form down to Dustin's body and ran a finger of the crimson blood.

"Bro?" Blake asked, kneeling next to Hunter. "We'll just give Tobi a couple minutes and then he'll heal Dustin. Whatever Dustin ends up in him, I guess," he added. "Man, this is seriously freaky."

Hunter was still staring at the blood as it dried between his fingers. "His blood… it looks the same."

Blake gave him an odd look. "As our Dustin's?"

"As mine," Hunter replied, his eyes not leaving his hand.

"Everybody's blood looks the same," Blake said, wrapping an arm around Hunter's shoulders. "Come on, bro, snap out of it. We need you here with us today, right now."

Hunter looked at his brother. "I was willing to let one Dustin die to save the one…" He swallowed before continuing. "It's like I killed him."

"Bro, we're not going through this again," Blake warned, forcing his brother to look at him. "Dustin—that Dustin made his choice and it's not your fault. I need you and I love you."

Hunter offered him a weak, forced smile and Blake wrapped his arms around him. "I love you too, bro," he whispered.

Tori stared between the bodies of Dustin and Tobi and had to admit to herself that she too wanted her Dustin back, no matter the cost. And that made her feel extremely guilty. "This must be hardest for him," she whispered.

"What?" Tobi's sister asked as she doused her brother.

"Tobi," she clarified. "I don't think he knows it, but he loves them both. Choosing means letting one die."

"Oh," Tobi's sister replied. "I just hope he can learn to accept whichever one he ends up with. We can't keep doing this."

"No, we can't," Tori agreed, helping her keep Tobi wet.

* * *

Even before Tobi had fully forced himself into a spirit form, he saw the two Dustin's staring at him. "Look, I'm sorry I caught you on fire," he began. "I didn't mean to and I'm… _trying_ not to blame you for… I just… If I could choose you both, but…" Then he realized that they seemed to be staring past him. So, he turned around to see…

The spirits of Hunter and Blake's parents were hovering over their sons. "Tobi," Mrs. Bradley said softly, "you don't have to decide."

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked.

"The decision has already been made," Mr. Bradley explained. "It was decided by Zurgane."

Tobi looked down, unable to reply.

"I don't know why you two are here," the other dimension's Dustin spoke up, "but this is the Dustin Tobi loves."

"But, dude, it's your body," Dustin pointed out.

"It's noble for you to be willing to sacrifice your very life out of love for Tobi," Mr. Bradley said, "but only your own spirit belongs in your body. Besides, Tobi would always hold the guilt of deciding inside him."

"So, you're saying let him be miserable with me instead?" the other Dustin argued.

"He wouldn't be miserable," Mrs. Bradley corrected. "He would be sad for a while, but he would not feel guilt. Even he knows your body is your own."

"Yeah, it's my body," the other Dustin replied, "and I can do with it what I want."

Tobi looked between the two Dustins. "I'd feel guilty if I leave either of you here."

"You have to, Tobs," the other Dustin told him. "There's only one body."

"TZT," Dustin interrupted, "Hunter and Blake's parents are right. You can't choose."

Tobi shook his head. "But not choosing is a choice." He looked at Hunter as Blake comforted him. "When you chose Hunter, not choosing me hurt and, when you chose me… I know he wouldn't admit it, but Hunter was hurt."

Dustin grimaced.

"I'm sorry," Tobi said quickly, approaching Dustin. "I love you too much to let you go, but that's what you're asking me to do. And, look at them." He gestured toward Hunter, Blake and the two Toris. "The people you love and care about would be happier if you were alive."

Dustin looked at Hunter and pouted before turning back to Tobi. "What about TZD?" he asked seriously. "You grew up with him. You always liked him."

Tobi nodded. "I know," he replied somberly, glancing at the other Dustin. "That's what makes this so hard."

"And, dude, that's why I made you promise," Dustin reminded him. "I don't want you to _have_ to choose."

"And I'll keep that promise," Tobi agreed, "but that doesn't change the fact that I want you in that body." He gestured toward Dustin's lifeless body below Hunter and Blake.

"I know," Dustin whispered. "I wish I were alive with you too."

The other Dustin looked between the other spirits, blinking. He couldn't cry and he couldn't walk, but Tobi had said he could touch other spirits, like this dimension's Dustin. So, he dove toward Dustin, knocking him over, which resulted in the two hovering horizontally.

"Woah, dude, what're you doing?" Dustin asked as he bounced around.

"Tobi loves you," the other Dustin explained as he tried to force Dustin toward his body, "and he doesn't love me."

"I…" Tobi began to protest, but he stopped himself. When Dustin fell in love with him, it meant that Dustin ended up dead. And now, because he fell in love with Dustin, the other Dustin, the one he grew up with, was going to end up dead. Was love worth all this? But, in the end, Tobi knew he hadn't chosen to fall in love.

"Tobi, do you really only love one of them?" Mrs. Bradley asked as she and her husband hovered over to stop the struggling Dustins as they rolled toward Dustin's body.

Tobi looked between the two identical Dustins. They looked the same. They were both slightly geeky. They both liked him. The difference that stood out in his mind is that only one of them was nice to him. But, all those memories he had from his past were with the Dustin who mistreated him just like everyone else. "I don't know," he finally said.

The other Dustin paused, looking at Tobi.

But, after a moment, Tobi had to admit, "Yeah, I guess I do only love one." Because, as much as he didn't understand it, it was true. At least, it felt true.

The other Dustin stared at Tobi a moment longer before grabbing Dustin with much more determination. If he could cry, he would definitely have been now.

Behind Tobi, he heard Tori's voice say, "It's been long enough. Hunter, we need to wake him up now so he can heal Dustin."

Tobi glanced at the two struggling Dustin as they hovered over the single body of Dustin. That was when he felt the sudden pull back toward his body. He had one moment in which he could have tried to stop the other Dustin, who had Dustin pinned over his body, but he didn't. Instead, he let himself drift back into his own body.

Once he felt the familiar pain that came with being back in a living (and burned) body, Tobi looked around quickly before rushing to Dustin's body. He pulled the chunk of rock from Dustin's chest and he heard gasps from the others as blood flowed out of Dustin's chest unimpeded. Concentrating, he focused on healing the body.

The others watched in silence as Dustin's wound healed itself.

The Sun Amulet on Tobi's morpher glowed brightly as he regained his own strength. Then he waited, watching the body for any signs of life. When Dustin's eyes remained closed, Tobi grabbed the fragments of the Gem of Souls and placed them on the body.

Immediately, they began to glow and, almost instantly, Dustin gasped, opening his eyes.

The others gathered around as Tobi stared into Dustin's familiar golden brown eyes. "Dustin?" he whispered.

Dustin blinked, looking around. "Woah, dude, my bell is totally ringing," he said, clutching his head.

Tobi blinked down at him for a moment before falling on top of him, burying his face in Dustin's chest. "Dustin," he choked out between tears. He didn't feel guilt or anything else. Right then, he felt… relief.

"Aw, man, Dustin, we seriously missed you," Blake was the first to say.

"Yeah," Tori agreed softly as she wiped away tears.

"Dude, I've missed you guys too, but—" Dustin began.

"Dustin," Hunter whispered, reaching out for his hand, which Dustin offered him willingly.

"What about our—the other Dustin?" Tobi's sister asked, standing away from the others as they gathered around Tobi and Dustin.

"That's what I wanted to tell you," Dustin said, one hand in Hunter's while the other petted Tobi's hair. "We're… both here."

Hunter gave him a confused look. "What do you mean, _we're_ both here?" he asked slowly.

Dustin cocked his head to the side. "He means," Dustin began, "During the struggle, both our spirits ended up in my body."

The others gasped and Tobi raised his head from Dustin's completely healed chest, his eyes wide and shiny. "You mean…" he whispered.

"Yeah, Tobs, we're both here," Dustin explained. "And, dude, it's freaking me out. It's like—Like we share the same mind? Yeah." He paused, thinking. Well, actually, having an internal conversation.

"Seriously?" Tobi's sister asked. "Both Dustin's are in there?"

Dustin nodded, still thinking.

Tobi stared into Dustin's eyes. "But… the Dustin I love is in there?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm in here, TZT," Dustin replied, offering him a smile. Then the smile faultered. "The _one_ you love…" he whispered sadly.

"How do you decide who talks?" Tobi asked, confused.

"We're working on that," Dustin said with an exhausted look before blurting out, "Aw, dude!" His expression changed to one of disgust. "TZT, you _so_ don't wanna know what he did with the fake you."

Tobi blinked at Dustin, speechless.

"Those are my private thoughts," Dustin said, apparently to himself. "Dude, it's not like I _want_ to know everything you know. Like, knowing how to make a robot is cool, but you're seriously messed up." He frowned before grimacing. "I'm seriously messed up? You have just as many insecurities as me. You just ignore them instead of facing them." He pouted. "Or like _dwell_ on them."

"Okay, this is really getting weird," Blake commented.

"Tell us about it!" Dustin agreed.

Tobi looked at him seriously. "Dustin, are you… okay being in there with him?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Dustin ran a hand through Tobi's hair and sniffed. "I like being alive," he replied. "The sharing thoughts thing is kinda a pain, but I think it's harder for TZD because he's not used to being honest with people… or himself."

"Oh," Tobi replied, surprised. "Well, as long as you're okay, I guess…" He noticed Dustin staring at him with a strange look in his eyes. Suddenly Dustin leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Without even thinking, Tobi found himself kissing Dustin back. After a moment, he pulled away. "Who…" he stuttered, staring at Dustin. "Who was I kissing?"

Dustin blinked at him. "Both of us, I guess."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled.

Dustin put a hand under Dustin's chin, forcing their eyes to meet. "I know for sure he loves you, TZT," he told him, nodding. "It's true, Tobs, I do love you. And I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Tobi replied quietly.

"I know," Dustin said. "We know what you said when you were a spirit before about…" Dustin paused, a wide range of emotions appearing on his face. "Oh," he whispered and his bottom lip began to tremble.

"Dustin?" Tobi asked.

Dustin couldn't answer because he began crying. "TZT," he choked out. "I wish you could see inside his mind. Maybe you'd get him I mean, like, even I get him."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled.

"Dustin?" Hunter whispered, clutching his hand tighter.

"Yeah?" Dustin whimpered.

"Can you walk?" Hunter asked. "I want Cam to look at you to make sure…" He glanced at Tobi. "…that you're okay."

Dustin nodded, wiping his face as the others helped him up. "Woah," he said, clutching his head.

"What's wrong?" Hunter asked.

"Dizzy," Dustin replied, shaking his head. "This is seriously gonna take some getting used to."

The others exchanged glances.

* * *

Back at Ninja Ops, Cam finished his examination of Dustin and looked at the others. They all had nervous, expectant looks on their faces. And, as always, it was up to Cam to fix their problems or calm their fears. "Physically, he's fine," he began, earning him at least a few sighs of relief. "Tobi healed even the burns he inflicted earlier."

"Yeah, I… I'm sorry," Tobi mumbled.

"We know," Dustin replied.

"Mentally, however," Cam continued, "I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"I just mean I'm not sure how the two personalities will work together," Cam explained. "They might function in tandem or they might clash, leading to psychosis."

"Which means?" Tobi's sister prompted.

"He'd go insane," Cam concluded.

"Too late, dude," Dustin muttered.

Shane patted his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back, bro, but seriously not the time for crazy jokes."

Dustin just nodded.

"There's also the possibility that the two personalities may merge and eventually become one," Cam added.

The others exchanged shocked looks.

"What would happen to… our Dustin then?" Tori asked slowly.

Cam thought for a moment. "He wouldn't be gone," he said, "but he wouldn't really be the same person we know. That's assuming the spirits both remain in him of course."

"We're not taking Dustin—_a_ Dustin out," Tobi said quickly.

Cam shrugged. "How do they feel about it?"

Dustin looked at Cam. "It kinda sucks, but it beats being dead."

The others nodded in understanding or support.

"Okay, then," Cam said. "Dustin," he addressed before pausing. "That is, the other dimension's Dustin."

"We need some way to tell them apart," Shane pointed out.

"How about D-Man?" the other dimension's Cam suggested.

Dustin shrugged. "Or, I could go by Twilight Zone Dustin," he suggested, "or TZD."

"It sounds a little too much like TZT," this dimension's Cam suggested, glancing at Tobi.

"And that would be a problem?" Dustin asked, looking at Tobi as well.

"Uh, I guess," Tobi replied, staring at Dustin with a grimace.

"What's wrong, Tobs?" Dustin asked. "You prefer D-Man for old time's sake?"

Tobi blinked, flinching. "It's just… when you talk, it reminds me of… the way things were before I came here. And, I don't want to go back to that."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled, looking down. "Because you'd never want to go back to when it was just us."

"It was never just us," Tobi corrected.

"Yeah, my fault," Dustin agreed, sighing.

"And…" Tobi continued uneasily.

"What?" Dustin prompted.

"I'm afraid at one point it'll only be you doing the talking and… this dimension's Dustin will be gone again."

Dustin blinked for a moment before saying earnestly, "TZT, dude, I'm still here." He reached out for Tobi and held him while Tobi rested his head on Dustin's upper arm. "Do you think you'll ever be able to love us _both_?"

Tobi looked up at him. "Who's asking?"

"Both of us, I guess," Dustin said, shrugging.

Tobi went back to resting against Dustin and thought about that. "I don't know," he admitted. "I guess it's… possible."

Dustin smiled, petting Tobi's head. "Waldo," he suddenly said.

"What?" Tobi asked, raising his head.

"We've decided you can call me Waldo," Dustin said.

"Me, as in…?" Tobi prompted.

"TZD," Dustin clarified. "He's not like totally against it like me. I always hated it. All the Where's Waldo jokes… Dude, it was so…" He paused, blinking. "Lonely." A look of realization dawned in his eyes. "It wasn't just that we both felt all different from everybody else. We both felt _lonely_ even though we weren't alone. We both have friends and are… or were happy. But something was missing." He stared into Tobi's eyes. "It was you. You changed that."

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked.

"You made us feel like we belonged," Dustin explained.

"How?" Tobi asked, confused. "This dimension's Dustin was practically carefree with the friends he grew up with and everyone who… fits his destiny, and my dimension's… _Waldo_ was the brains of the group, the unspoken second in command. How did I add something to that?"

Dustin nodded, cocking his head to the side. "I guess like both of us are kinda clueless with how to explain it, but it makes sense up here." He pointed to his head.

"I really wish I knew what goes on inside that cute head of yours," Tobi said, "now more than ever."

"I remember you saying that when we were in the training room and Tori was being all like mind controlled," Dustin said with a grin. "And, dude, I thought I had a lot of stuff in my head then. Now it's like _crazy_!" he chuckled softly before becoming serious. "But, dude, I felt something… like this bond even then. It was like I was waiting my whole life for you. TZD… I guess Waldo," he corrected, cringing at the name, "helps me make a little more sense of what's in my head." He smiled warmly at Tobi. "The way you always do."

Tobi nodded, blinking.

"And, remember when you used to pretend to read my mind when we were kids, Tobs?" Dustin added, shaking his head. "You always had the craziest sense of humor. I think…" His expression fell. "I think, if your mom survived or we didn't become ninjas without you or just if we weren't such jerks, you might have ended up like this Dustin. He's… like who you could have been, maybe _should_ have been." He pouted. "I guess there's no way to tell what would have happened."

"Yeah," Tobi mumbled.

"And, Tobs," he continued, "I think he's good for me. I may be the smarter one of us." He smirked, rolling his eyes. "But he has everything I'm missing."

Cam cleared his throat before addressing, "Waldo, I was hoping you could help me restore the holographic portal functions. The controls in the Zord Bay are buried under dirt, so…"

"Sure, Cam," Dustin agreed quickly before suddenly stopping himself. "But, we should at least consider my idea. The Zords won't—Your idea is way too risky and I don't want Marah and Kapri getting hurt," he interrupted himself.

"What idea's too risky?" hippy Marah asked, approaching the group gathered around Dustin.

Dustin pouted, forcing his mouth closed.

"I think he's talking about you two impersonating the other versions of you," Cam theorized, "and infiltrating Lothor's ship to steal his PAM."

"You want us to steal his cooking spray?" Kapri asked. "Cousin, if you're that desperate, I have a way better idea."

"Kapri's right, Cam," Marah agreed. "Did you know the human body produces its own oil that can—"

Cam groaned. "I'm not talking about cooking spray," he interrupted. "Lothor has a device called a Personal Alien Manager, or PAM, that he uses to summon and enlarge monsters." He spoke slowly, almost like how an adult would speak to a child.

The two girls made dramatic "Oh" sounds.

"But it's dangerous and…" Dustin began, looking at Marah. He stopped, just staring at her.

"Dustin?" she whispered.

He blinked quickly, shaking his head. "It's just… you're really cute. Funny how I never saw it before." He then glanced at Hunter and nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he said, agreeing with some unspoken comment in his head.

"Am I the only one who's freaked out by this?" Blake asked.

Hunter patted his brother's shoulder while still staring at Dustin. "No, bro, you're not."

"I'm sorry, Hunter," Dustin insisted. "We both are."

Hunter gave him a confused look.

"Dude, I… I didn't really give you like an _explanation_ why I chose TZT," Dustin explained. "I guess I kinda got all… caught up in stuff. It wasn't… _fair_ to you."

Hunter's eyes softened. "It's okay, Dustin. I understand. If you hadn't chosen Tobi, I probably would have told you to. I'm glad you're together. You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, dude," Dustin said, but so do you."

"I'll be okay," Hunter promised, taking Dustin's hand, "as long as you're okay."

Dustin stared at Hunter for a moment before leaning forward and kissing him on the lips.

Hunter was surprised and caught off guard, but still returned the kiss after some hesitation.

Then Dustin pulled away quickly, his cheeks flushed and an embarrassed look on his face. "Sorry," he mumbled. "it's hard to control things when we both want the same thing."

Hunter's own cheeks were also red as he nodded. "Yeah, I… get it."

Dustin glanced around, embarrassed. "Waldo's not used to like showing his feelings when other people are around."

"Even his friends," Tobi's sister added matter-of-factly.

Tobi looked between Dustin and Hunter but Dustin turned to him and smiled. "Guess you know what's coming?" He then leaned forward and kissed Tobi on the lips. Tobi reached up, running his fingers through Dustin's hair and pulling his face closer.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," the other dimension's Shane grumbled.

"It's not… that bad," the other dimension's Hunter suggested.

"Wait, Super Shane, you don't think it's hot?" the other dimension's Cam asked, confused.

"No, Cam, that's all you," the other dimension's Blake said with a roll of his eyes.

When Dustin and Tobi separated, they were both panting heavily.

Tori noticed Tobi's sister smiling. "What?" she asked.

She shrugged. "Hey, it takes weird to a whole new level, but it means Tobi's finally sharing his feelings with our Dustin. Waldo, whatever," she added.

Tori nodded, turning back to the two. "Sure," she mumbled.

"We've decided to help you, Cam," Dustin said, turning to Cam. "Even though one of us is scared of Zords, we trust you." He smiled a wide, toothy grin.

"Thank you… both," Cam replied.

Dustin began to walk toward the Zord bay, but became momentarily dizzy.

"Cam, I thought you said he was alright physically," Hunter said, steadying Dustin.

"He is," Cam said, shrugging toward Hunter as he examined Dustin.

"It's the two spirits," Skyla suddenly spoke up.

"You can see them?" Tobi asked, turning to her quickly.

She shook her head before approaching Tobi and taking his hand. Shane glanced between the two, confused. "But you can see them," she whispered.

Tobi just stared at her.

"At least, I think you can," she added.

"You mean, if I leave my body again?" he asked. "I don't think Cam would like it if I started burning in Ninja Ops."

Cam nodded. "That's true."

"You're not doing that again," Tobi's sister warned him.

"I don't think you have to go that far to see what we can't," Skyla told him.

"Skyla is correct, Tobi," Sensei spoke up, hopping over. "You do not need to take your meditation as far as you did when I first taught you."

"Oh," Tobi realized, turning to Dustin. He closed his eyes and concentrated just on Dustin's life force. He tuned everything else out and didn't try to let his consciousness roam or form. It was just like he was going to heal Dustin, but instead he tried to see him the way he would as a spirit.

"Do you know what he's doing?" Shane whispered to Skyla.

"He's learning how to see," she said quietly.

"Uh, okay," Shane said, glancing at Tori, who shrugged.

Then Tobi finally saw it. He saw the glow around Dustin that seemed more drawn to Dustin than bound to him. When Dustin moved, rather than the glow moving as a part of him, there was a slight delay as the glow caught up with the movements. After a moment, he realized what the glow was.

"Tobi?" Tori asked as Tobi opened his eyes, worry clear on his face. "What did you see?"

"I know why you're dizzy," he told Dustin.

"Why?" Dustin asked quickly.

Tobi blinked for a moment, taking a breath. "I guess because it's Dust—Waldo's body, his spirit is all the way in it, but you…" He swallowed. "Dustin, your spirit is just like _caught_ on his body. It's loose, not fully connected. When you two move your body, your spirit takes a moment to catch up. It's only like a second, but it's enough that…"

"That what?" Dustin asked nervously.

"That he's afraid the bond might not be permanent," Cam concluded.

Tobi nodded.

"Oh," Dustin mumbled.

"Just… take it easy, okay?" Tobi advised. "And, whatever you do, don't streak."

"What about helping Cam?" Dustin advised.

"I don't know what would happen if you move through the dirt," he replied, glancing at Marah and Kapri. "Maybe we should try Waldo's idea."

"But…" Dustin started to protest.

"We'll just see if they can pull it off," Tobi added, "you know, practice."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so," Dustin agreed.

"What do we have to do?" Marah asked.

"First, you'll need to swap outfits," Tobi replied. "I guess you could think of it as a makeover."

"And the Zords?" Cam asked.

"We'll help," Tobi's sister immediately offered.

He gave her a surprised look.

"What?" she asked. "I don't want Dustin and… _Waldo_ separating either." Cam raised an eyebrow, so she leaned toward him and whispered, "If my dimension's Dustin ends up being the only one in there again, I don't know what it'll do to Tobi. We'd have to go through the whole sacrifice and death and spirits and whatever else all over again. And, Cam, none of us want that, do we?"

"No," Cam agreed, blinking at her.

She smiled at him. "Close your mouth. Unless you want to catch flies."

"We're not gonna watch them change, are we?" Dustin asked Tobi, his eyebrows raised.

Tobi stared at him.

"We're joking," Dustin quickly assured him, glancing around.

"Right," Tobi replied, watching him. "I can see that putting both personalities together is going to be… interesting."

Dustin nodded, grinning. "Totally."

"Yeah… interesting," Hunter mumbled behind them.

Tori noticed this and patted his shoulder.

* * *

After the girls changed in the training room, Tobi, Dustin and Geo entered the room.

"How do I look?" hippy Marah asked, spinning around. She was dressed as space ninja Marah and Destiny was growling at her.

Hippy Kapri clapped her hands. "I love the antennas and little wings!" she cheered before trying to calm Destiny.

"But it's the same clothes you said you didn't like on the other Marah," Geo pointed out.

"But she looks so much better in them!" Kapri insisted. "Quiet, Destiny."

"Aw, you're so sweet!" Marah said, hugging Kapri. "And the horns kind of look like two unicorn horns," she added, touching the horns atop Kapri's head. "And you always looks so good in pink."

"Thank you!" Kapri said sweetly.

"Oh, yes, these two will completely fool our uncle," space ninja Kapri said sarcastically. She was still tied to space ninja Marah, but the two were now dressed in their hippy counterparts' outfits.

"She's right," Tobi agreed. "They're too nice." Then he noticed Dustin staring at Marah, his head tilted. "What is it, Dustin?" Tobi asked.

"We just figured out that Marah's outfit looks like Beevil," Dustin said.

"Beevil?" Tobi repeated.

Dustin frowned. "Unpleasant memory."

"Oh," Tobi realized, "when Marah tricked you."

Dustin nodded, blinking as Tobi put an arm around him. He smiled at Tobi before turning to Marah and Kapri as they complimented each other's outfits. "Can you guys be… mean and…" He paused, adding, "stupid?"

"Being stupid is easy," Geo said. "Just pretend you're dumb and don't know stuff."

"That we can do, but we can't be mean," Marah insisted.

"But you'd have to for this to work," Dustin replied. "And, if it doesn't work, not only will Lothor still be able to enlarge aliens to destroy the city and… crush houses," he added, cringing, "but you two would be… in danger."

Tobi watched Dustin for a moment before suggesting to the girls, "Maybe you two could just try it out. Just _practice_ being mean."

"I'll go first," Kapri offered. "Black really isn't your color."

Marah looked at her outfit. "Yeah," she agreed. "It is kind of depressing as far as colors go."

"But chocolate's black," Geo pointed out, picking up Destiny.

Kapri nodded. "Well, more of a dark brown. Oh! Let's try that! Maybe Lothor won't notice. I think it'd go good with the red."

"I don't think that's quite it," Dustin said.

"Do you think _I_ look bad in black?" space ninja Marah asked, concerned. "I mean, like we're total copies of each other."

"Shut up," space ninja Kapri grumbled. "Don't even try to talk."

Space ninja Marah then began whining and complaining.

"Like that," Tobi said, gesturing with his arm. "Act just like them."

"But they're mean to each other and we're like best friends," hippy Kapri argued, throwing an arm around hippy Marah.

"Pretend like she's… like whoever you hate," Dustin suggested.

"We don't hate anyone," hippy Marah replied.

Tobi and Dustin exchanged exasperated looks.

"Can we get something to eat now?" Geo complained. "I'm hungry."

Dustin raised his eyebrows. "So am I, Geodude. I didn't eat at all when I didn't have a body. I mean, like of course I didn't."

"The others are going to try to dig some of the dirt out of the Zord bay," Tobi said. "You guys can go eat. I guess I'll… help them." He watched Dustin as he said this.

"Aren't you hungry, TZT?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah, I am, but…" he started to protest.

"I'm sure they'll be okay without you," Dustin replied. "I… _We_ want you to come."

Tobi smiled. "Sure. Maybe they can practice while we're eating. It seems like it's going to take a while."

Dustin nodded. "I just hope Lothor doesn't choose to use his PAM to summon a monster while we're still unprepared, Tobs."

"Yeah," Tobi agreed, patting Dustin.

"We're worried about that too," Marah added. "That's why we're helping you. That and…"

"What?" Dustin asked.

Marah blushed. "We like you."

Dustin smiled. "We like you too. I'm glad we're friends."

"Yeah, so am I," Marah agreed.

"We're like total best friends forever!" Kapri declared. "Group hug!"

Dustin and Tobi joined Marah, Kapri, Geo and even Destiny in a group hug before Marah asked, "So, what are we going to eat?"

Tobi and Dustin turned to each other at the same time and said, "Ice cream!"

* * *

Lothor stared at his viewscreen as he watched Zurgane's defeat over again as if somehow, this time, the result would be different. He slammed his fist down, letting out some frustration while also turning the viewer off. "At least he managed to destroy one of the Power Rangers," he commented outloud, "but there are now more of them than there are of us." He sighed before calling, to no one in particular, "Where are my nieces?"

"Beats me," he could hear Choobo reply dumbly.

"Oh, for the love of…" he began, groaning. "Choobo, go find them," he commanded without looking at the alien.

"Yes, okay," Choobo said, turning and scampering off, nearly running into Vexacus.

Lothor looked over at the fish-headed alien. "Vexacus," he greeted dryly. "Since, by default, you are my new number one general," he began, visibly cringing at the thought, "I have a task for you."

"Does it by chance involve defeating the Power Rangers?" Vexacus asked in an off-handed way.

"Yes, it does," Lothor replied, surprised as he noticed Vexacus unroll a transparent-papered scroll. "What's that?"

"A plan to defeat the Power Rangers: Condortron," Vexacus explained, studying the scroll absentmindedly.

"Now you're talking," Lothor said, his mood quickly improving. "And I want you to make sure to include that gold ranger. In fact, he deserves something… special, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, I do," Vexacus agreed, closing the scroll.

"He also has something that I want," Lothor continued, now sounding casual.

"What's that?" Vexacus asked, glancing over as Motodrone and Shimazu entered the room.

"According to a very reliable scroll, he has in his possession what is called the Sun Amulet," Lothor explained.

"Wasn't that destroyed?" Vexacus asked.

"Apparently not in the other dimension," Lothor explained. "It certainly would be quite a prize."

"That was how the gold ranger defeated Zurgane," Vexacus realized, thinking.

"I assume so," Lothor replied, glancing at the alien out of the corner of his mask.

"I will fetch it at once and then… victory," Vexacus declared, clenching his hand into a fist and raising it into the air.

Lothor nodded, grinning. "Go, but make sure I know exactly when the attack is to occur. I want to set the DVR on the viewer. And, remember, the gold ranger—"

"Get's special attention," Vexacus finished, nodding. "As you wish." He then spun in his tracks and left the room, laughing quietly to himself.

"Motodrone," Lothor called the moment Vexacus was gone.

"Sir," Motodrone said, approaching.

Lothor lowered his voice. "Follow him. I don't trust that fish as far as I can smell him."

"Yes, sir," Motodrone quickly agreed while Shimazu scampered around the two.

"And make sure he brings back the amulet," Lothor added, waving off Shimazu like he was an insect.

"What could he do with it?" Motodrone asked.

"I'd rather not think about that," Lothor replied. "Anything I can do with it, he can do."

"Sir, what if the gold ranger destroys him too?" Motodrone pointed out.

Lothor shrugged. "Not a huge loss there," he admitted, "but I want the amulet in my possession and that gold ranger destroyed. Make sure those two things happen. And, as always, try to defeat the rest of the Power Rangers."

"Yes, sir," Motodrone agreed, leaving.

Behind the two, Shimazu called, "See you later, gator! Bye bye!"

"I'm running out of generals I can trust," Lothor grumbled to himself before growling at Shimazu.

"What?" the alien asked innocently, stopping his annoying behavior.

Lothor just grumbled to himself as he left the bridge.

* * *

With the exception of Dustin, Tobi and the hippy Marah and Kapri, both dimension's rangers were in the Zord bay, shoveling through a mountain of rocks and dirt. The process only ended up moving the dirt from one side of the bay to the other, but it also exposed vital panels that were necessary to using the holographic portals to transport the Zords out of the bay.

"We wouldn't be doing this if Dustin were here," Blake commented as he tried to heave a large chunk or rock aside.

"It's worth it if it means we don't lose our Dustin again," Hunter said, helping his brother with the rock. With it out of the way, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Bro, you got something right…" Blake said, pointing to Hunters forehead. His brother wiped his forehead again, making it worse and causing Blake to laugh.

"Well, you got something right… here!" Hunter said, smearing dirt on his brother.

"Ew! Look at them getting all dirty," space ninja Marah complained. Her and space ninja Kapri were still dressed as hippies and tied together off to the side of the bay, where they could watch the digging.

"On you, dirt would be an improvement," Kapri grumbled.

"Well… your outfit doesn't even match your hair," Marah replied.

"That's the best you can come up with?" Kapri snapped. "At least my clothes don't smell like urine."

Marah sniffed her clothes. "Ew! It smells like dog pee!"

"That's because it is dog pee," grumpy Sensei spoke up, a grin on his tiny face.

"You're enjoying this, Kanoi, aren't you?" his wife accused as she helped shovel.

He shrugged his little body. "Unlike the other ones' singing, these two are actually entertaining."

"I'm with you on that one, Sensei," the other dimension's Shane told him, a rare smile on his lips.

"I want to know how you know what dog pee smells like," the other dimension's Blake asked.

"We used to have a puppy," Marah explained, "but our uncle made us give him away. He never lets us have any fun."

Kapri rolled her eyes. "Because he didn't like us trading away his PAM?"

"But I thought the Make A Puppy was just as good," Marah insisted.

"Just like adding frozen vegetables to our uncle's drink was just as good as ice cubes," Kapri said.

"Well, how was I supposed to make ice cubes?" she defended. "I looked through the whole cookbook and couldn't find the recipe." Suddenly she shrieked as dirt spattered on her face. She began spitting it out. "Someone got dirt on me!" she complained.

"My bad," the other dimension's Blake said with a grin. "You remind me of Leanne." Then his face fell. "I can't believe she's dead. She was a spoiled brat, but I looked even better than usual next to her, if that's possible."

"Nope, not possible," the other dimension's Hunter said, patting his brother's chest.

"Just as I thought," Kapri told Marah. "The dirt's actually an improvement."

"Is it?" Marah asked, studying herself.

"Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people," Kapri mumbled.

"I'm not stupid!" Marah insisted.

"I forgot," Kapri replied. "You're possessed by a retarded ghost. I'll call an exorcist."

"How do you come up with those insults?" the other dimension's Shane asked.

"Too much free time," she replied. "I would teach you, but I don't have _that_ much free time."

Shane chuckled quietly as the two continued bickering.

"I thought about you all day," Kapri told Marah.

"You did?" Marah asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I was at the zoo," Kapri finished, watching the blank expression on Marah's face. "Keep thinking about it and maybe someday you'll get it."

"It's not that I'm too stupid to see things your way," Marah insisted. "It's just that I can't get my head that far up my ass!"

This actually caused Kapri to laugh.

"You think those two fight so much because they love each other?" Tori whispered to the other Tori as they shoveled near Cam.

The other Tori stared at her. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Well, they say couples that are in love fight about anything, so I thought…" She noticed the look in the other Tori's eyes and shrugged, tossing aside dirt. "I guess not."

Suddenly the other Tori's expression changed. "This is about you and Blake fighting," she realized.

"Maybe," Tori admitted. "That would mean I love Blake more than Hunter."

The other Tori watched her. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

Tori frowned. "I guess. I mean, I've always liked Blake and he likes me. And Hunter… he's still in love with Dustin. I can see it in his eyes." She stared off into space.

"His sparkling, sky blue eyes," the other Tori teased. "If you want him, go for it."

Tori raised her eyebrows before realizing. "So you can have Blake," she accused.

The other Tori just smiled. "Naturally. I wouldn't want the brown eyed Bradley to go to waste."

"Well, he's not going to waste," Tori huffed, shoveling dirt aside roughly, which caused it to spatter on the other Tori. "Not that he's some _thing_ that can be wasted. I just can't stop caring about…"

The other Tori groaned, brushing dirt aside. "Just go talk to them. They're brothers. They can share."

"Share?" Tori repeated. "But…"

"Go!" the other Tori insisted, shoving her with dirty hands toward the direction of this dimension's version of the brothers.

Tori reluctantly walked over to the two as the other Tori watched her. "So, how's it going?" Tori asked lamely as she approached the brothers.

"Hey, Tor," Blake greeted. "We could use some help."

"Sure," she offered cheerfully. "So, you guys okay?"

"Why don't we ask the brooder?" Blake suggested.

"Hunter?" Tori asked.

Hunter shrugged. "I'm just trying to wrap my mind around there being two Dustins in one body."

"Yeah," Tori agreed. "Me too."

"Hey, you think it's weird that the two Dustins are _sharing_ Tobi?" Blake asked. "I mean, if they're still together."

"Sharing, right," Tori mumbled.

"What?" Hunter asked her.

"You know, it's funny really," Tori explained. "The other me said… you two could _share_ me." She made a little laugh to show she didn't take the idea too seriously.

The two brothers exchanged looks. "Before you say anything, no," Blake told his brother.

"Come on, bro," Hunter insisted. "Let's just hear her out." He ran a hand through Blake's hair, rubbing his scalp. "It could be fun."

Blake glared at him before turning back to Tori. "Since it was the other Tori's idea, why can't she join us? It'd be more fair. Two guys, two girls." He smiled at the thought.

Tori frowned. "On second thought, sharing isn't just a silly idea. It's a bad idea."

"Oh," Blake mumbled, glancing across at the other Tori, a disappointed look on his face.

Hunter rolled his eyes so Tori could see. She just roller her own right along with the blonde.

Meanwhile, the other Tori approached Cam, still watching the three from a distance. "Cam, how do you know when you're in love?" she asked casually.

He looked up from his shovel, confused. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're smart," she replied, "and… you care."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Yep, I can see right through you," she said with a smirk. "Aren't you scared?"

"It's not a secret that I care about people," Cam defended. "It's just not… well understood."

"So, are you going to dodge the question forever?" she prompted impatiently.

Cam sighed, following her gaze to Blake. He watched as Tori seemed to be flirting with both brothers. He was sure that she wasn't aware of her behavior, but it still… hurt. "When you love someone, that person, more than anyone else, has the power to make you happy or… to hurt you."

The other Tori paused, thinking. "Then maybe I really haven't ever been in love, not with my dimension's Blake or the new, more… adorable Blake. I haven't loved anyone. Well, except for Tobi, but that doesn't count."

"Did you tell Tobi that you love him?" Cam asked conversationally while turning back to his work.

"Yeah, I did _finally_," she replied.

"Good," Cam said. "He deserves to know that people love him."

She gave him a surprised look. "You almost sound like _you_ love him."

"He's just… I've become used to him," Cam quickly defended. "Plus, he did say he liked me best, second only to Dustin. But, of course, everyone loves Dustin."

"So it seems," she agreed as the two noticed how often Hunter got a far away look in his eyes as he dug.

"Circuit, is that enough room for you to squeeze down into the projection conduit?" Cam asked.

"I'll try to fit, Cam," Circuit said before hovering down through the dirt.

"Do you see the interchange manifold?" Cam asked.

"Yes," Circuit replied, its voice muffled.

"How much more dirt do we need to move before I can get to it?" he continued.

"About five more feet," Circuit replied. "And, Cam, it looks like it needs to be replaced."

Cam groaned. "That's what I was afraid of." He looked down the mountain of dirt that he was at the top of and wondered what Dustin was doing right now…

* * *

Marah giggled as she ate her rocky road ice cream. "You two look so cute," she said, glancing between Geo and Dustin, both of whom had chocolate ice cream covered faces.

Geo licked his sticky fingers as Dustin gave her an innocent look. "What?" he asked.

"She's right," Tobi said, looking up from Destiny to Dustin's messy face that she was trying to lick. "But, cuter than usual. The whole messy eating thing takes some getting used to, but I like it."

"Messy?" he repeated, sounding surprised as he looked at his reflection in his spoon.

"I heard you're not supposed to give dogs chocolate," Marah warned as Destiny jumped onto Dustin's lap.

"She can have the rest of mine," Kapri offered, sliding her bowl of strawberry ice cream across the table.

Dustin stopped looking at himself and offered Destiny Kapri's bowl.

"You've always been a messy eater," Tobi told him.

"I… have," he mumbled, thinking.

"Oh," Tobi realized. "Because Waldo was never messy. But, you chose chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla, so I guess you're eating habits are more like Dustin's."

Dustin nodded, still thinking.

"This ice cream isn't as good as the kind in the other dimension," Geo pointed out.

"Yeah, it wasn't as creamy," Kapri agreed.

Suddenly a look of realization filled Dustin's wide, chocolate eyes.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked, concerned. He placed a hand on Dustin's arm, feeling his bicep momentarily tense.

"The milk they use here is cow's milk," Dustin said slowly.

"What?" Marah and Kapri asked in unison, suddenly staring at the mostly finished bowls of ice cream. Even Destiny seemed to pause, sensing the surprise.

"But, dude, your dimension's milk is from… _humans_," Dustin said, arguing with himself. "So… that milkshake you made me…" he realized, looking at Marah.

"You didn't like my milkshake?" Marah asked, concerned.

"No, it was awesome," Dustin replied. "I just… So, you, uh, like _squeezed_ it out?"

Marah blinked at him, blushing. "That's how it works, more or less."

Tobi watched as Dustin's gaze lowered to Marah's chest.

"I really get sore when I make a lot of milkshakes, but I wanted something from me to you," Marah explained. She patted her chest. "I really need a good massage."

Dustin started to reach across the table and Tobi reached up, grabbing his hand to stop him. "Dustin, I think you're having one of those hard to control what both of you want moments."

Dustin blinked, coming to his senses. "Yeah," he mumbled, lowering his hand.

"I'll give you a massage later," Kapri promised Marah while using a napkin to clean Geo's face.

"Uh, Dustin, why don't I clean your face in the bathroom," Tobi suggested.

"Yeah, okay, dude," Dustin said, lifting Destiny and handing her across the table as Tobi led him off.

"We'll be right back," Tobi told the others.

When the two entered the restroom, Dustin looked around, making sure it was empty except for the two of them. "So, you wanna _lick_ me clean, Tobs?" He grinned suggestively.

Tobi stared at him for a moment. "I guess everything that happened that day you both know now," he said, blushing as he approached the sink.

"Yeah," Dustin replied, a smile still on his face.

Tobi wet a paper towel and proceeded to wipe Dustin's face clean.

Dustin's expression fell. "No licking?" he asked, sounding disappointed. "Is it 'cause he's in here with me, TZT?"

Tobi paused in his cleaning of Dustin's face to watch Dustin's expression. "I guess it's a little strange—or a whole lot strange," he amended, "but maybe it's not about there being two of you. Maybe it's just because it's been such an emotional roller coaster recently. I didn't even masturbate today and I'm not boned right now." He could feel his cheeks flush as he confessed this. "Okay, I'll admit I feel closer to Dustin than Waldo," he continued. "I know that doesn't make any sense because I grew up with the one I don't feel closest to." He paused, thinking. "But I feel more nervous talking about things like… like masturbating with Waldo because… Well, I guess because he would make fun of me if I did."

"Tobs," Dustin said, his voice sounding serious. "I can let Dustin control my body while I… stay in the back of my mind until he needs me. You can be with him… _just_ him."

Tobi froze. In a way, it was what he wanted, to have this dimension's Dustin without loosing the other Dustin, but that made him feel guilty. Really, it wasn't fair. "No," he said quickly as he resumed his cleaning of Dustin's face. "I'm actually starting to get used to you both being in there. "You—Waldo," he corrected, "was never nice to me, so there was a lot of… heartache involved with liking him, but there was heartache with Dustin too. I guess what I'm saying is I could learn to love you both." He finished cleaning Dustin's face and disposed of the paper towel.

Dustin stared at Tobi for a moment before suddenly leaning forward and kissing him. His kiss was gentle at first before becoming more aggressive until he pulled away. He was blinking as if surprised.

"Dustin?" Tobi asked, the feeling of Dustin's lips on his own still lingering.

"That… that wasn't both of us," Dustin said, still staring at Tobi.

Tobi gave him a confused look. "Which one was it?"

"It was TZD," Dustin answered. "He like tricked me with trying to figure something out he had in his head and then like _wham_, he was kissing you."

"Oh," Tobi mumbled, confused.

"It was… a going away kiss?" Dustin asked himself.

"Dustin…" Tobi whispered.

"This one's totally me, TZT," Dustin said, leaning forward and kissing Tobi with a passion that reminded him of the last time they were in an ice cream parlor.

Just then, Geo entered the restroom holding Destiny.

The two separated, staring at the boy with embarrassed grins. "Geodude," Dustin greeted cheerfully. "Does Destiny have to pee, 'cause you know she's a girl?"

Geo shook his head. "Some alien's attacking the restaurant."

Tobi and Dustin exchanged quick glances before running for the restroom exit, but, as they did, Dustin stumbled into Tobi and Tobi had to catch him. "Don't run," Tobi warned. "And, if a fight breaks out, stay behind me."

Dustin nodded, shaking off his dizziness as the three left the restroom.

As a few customers ran out of the ice cream shop, they fled a large green a white alien. It was Choobo and he was standing in front of the still seated Marah and Kapri.

"There you two are," Choobo greeted the girls. "Your uncle's been looking everywhere for you. Well, okay, he didn't even leave the ship, but _I've_ been looking everywhere for you!"

Marah and Kapri exchanged worried looks before Marah's eyes met Dustin's. She seemed to be asking if they should pretend to be the space ninja counterparts that they were dressed as. Dustin blinked, breathing heavily. He found Tobi's hand and squeezed it before nodding. Tobi looked up at him, concerned.

"We're sorry to worry our uncle Lothor," Marah began before changing her tone. "I mean, like, who cares?"

"Uh, yeah, we don't care," Kapri agreed. "We're mean."

"Not as mean as your uncle's gonna be when we get back," Choobo said, gesturing for them to stand up. That was when he noticed Dustin, Tobi and Geo. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked Dustin.

"Uh, no," Dustin said quickly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a morpher and handed it to Marah. "You dropped this," he told her.

Choobo didn't seem to notice as she offered him a thankful nod. Then the alien reached for something on his arm and the three vanished.

"Marah! Kapri!" Geo shouted, running over to where they had been only moments before. Destiny also barked at the empty booth.

Tobi looked into Dustin's eyes as he continued to grip Tobi's hand.

"At least Waldo thought to give her the morpher he took from me in the cave," Dustin said, pouting. "I wouldn't have thought of that. I'm glad he didn't totally bail on me."

Tobi put an arm around Dustin. "Come on, guys. Let's get back to Ninja Ops."

Dustin nodded, but, as the three exited the ice cream shop, he blinked, looking up.

"What is it?" Tobi asked.

"Nothing," Dustin said. "Just thought I saw a shadow."

"Maybe resting would help," Tobi replied before he noticed a shadow pass overhead as well. And, this time, he followed it to a shark-faced alien and a large mechanical bird creature.

"Just who I've been looking for," Vexacus greeted. "I had a feeling that bumbling fool Choobo would lead me right to you."

Tobi immediately took up a fighting stance in front of Dustin, Geo and Destiny.

Vexacus looked to his left, as if just noticing the bird creature. "Meet Condortron," he introduced, "an ingenious creation, if I do say so myself."

"If you came here to try to do to this Dustin's body what Zurgane did," Tobi growled, "you're gonna meet his fate. I don't care what killing you does to me. You'll _never_ get to him."

"Actually, I came here for you," Vexacus corrected, adding, "gold ranger."

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Lots left to happen, so tell me what you think and what you want to see!  
_


	38. Trading Traitors

**New Poll: **_**What should TZTori aka Tobi's sister's nickname be in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? **_If you do not see a name you like, please add a comment in the review. I've tried to be... unique. You can pick up to three choices.

**Regarding Pairings: **In this chapter, I try out the winning pairing from the last poll. To remind you, that was: Tobi/Dustin, Tori/Blake, Hunter/TZDustin, Cam/TZTori and Shane/Skyla. I haven't abandoned the Hunter/Cam fans and there's a very tiny bit somewhere in here. In the actual episode this chapter is based on, their conversation goes like this: Cam: "What's he doing here?" Hunter: "Oh, it's you." So romantic!

* * *

**_Warning! _**_This chapter contains excessive (though not overly descriptive) violence! Aaaah!_

_**Author's Notes: **This chapter takes place during the second half of the episode "Gem of a Day," but I'd like to think that my version of events is better… I tried to give Condortron something to make it at least partially formidable. Also, I don't have Hunter call Vexacus a "docile dufus." Seriously, he says that in the episode! Anyway, the chapter centers mostly around two pivotal action scenes at the beginning and then at the end of the chapter. I hope that I've made things clear and understandable. I've also tried to focus more on certain characters so that it doesn't feel like there are too many characters at once. And, yes, more drama and unexpected stuff happens…_

_**~Winner **for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… **FinalJudgement**! Too bad I don't have any prizes!_

* * *

_**Review Comments:**_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for pointing out that there are too many characters! I know this is true, so I've tried to focus just on certain characters at a time in this chapter. It'll get easier when some of the characters are sent back to the other dimension. I know, that probably seems overdue, but I just haven't felt like the timing is quite right yet. Soon, though. In the mean time, I'll continue to try to mostly focus on a few characters at a time. We'll see how good I am at that…_

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for your ever supportive reviews! I appreciate them so much! First, regarding two Dustin's in one body, I'm glad that it was unexpected. That was part of my goal, but it also serves another purpose. The two Dustin's can "rub off" on each other little quarks. Also, it gave me the opportunity to do some other unexpected things in this chapter… As for if they'll stay in one body, you'll have to read and find out. But, just rest assured that I have a plan! And we'll be seeing more of hippy Marah and Kapri in here so I'm glad you like them. As a warning, this chapter contains... some very intense scenes. Just a warning. And now, on to the next exciting installment…_

_Thanks **FinalJudgement **for not only the pep talk but also the **idea**! Yes, I was all set to go in one direction with this chapter and then I read your review and was like, "I have to do that!" Now, what idea could I be referring to? If I told you, it would spoil the story. Yes, yes, you could just go back and read your review, but don't do that! You don't want to spoil the surprise, right? And maybe I should be giving you encouragement, since you say you lost your own motivation. So, here goes: Go, go, go! Fight, fight, fight! Oh, wait, that's not right. I thought I was in a boxing ring for a moment there. Let me try again: You can do it! Just look at the brilliant idea you came up with that I didn't even think of and that made this chapter so much better! Just use your own ideas and run with them. Either that, or let me steal them. No, I mean, keep on writing! You can do it! Maybe you should try writing about Power Rangers (I only have a vague sense that Fire Emblem is a game, right?). That could be the key right there… (hint, hint)_

_Thanks **MagicHalo **for reviewing two chapters in a row with your trademark thoroughness! Thank you! If you like the action, you'll probably enjoy this chapter. And, if you like the drama, there's a little of that in here too. No need to apologize for being upset over Dustin's death. That means that I've successfully created a captivating and compelling story. As you probably guessed based on the pairing polls, the current Dustin situation isn't permanent. It does give me a chance to do some… things, though. I can't tell you, because that would be a spoiler. I try to put the beginnings of a Hunter/TZD pairing in here, so we'll have to see how that goes. Again, I spend more time on events than relationship building, but I do try to balance things. Speaking of balance, I tried to make this chapter very linear while also creating a balance of a few characters at a time. I hope my efforts make it less confusing. Do the little summaries right before the chapter (see directly below) help at all to bring you up to date? What specifically would you like to see to make the story easier to follow? I was a little confused about the line, "So I guess, one request would be that your stories wouldn't keep moving backwards a lot, just stick to the frontward story line." By moving backward, what do you mean? Maybe I'm overthinking this, but let me know! And, yes, here's more action…_

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**The other dimension's Dustin (Waldo) sacrifices his own body so that this dimension's Dustin can live in it, but instead both spirits end up sharing the body. The mental sharing makes Dustin slightly more erratic and impulsive, but Skyla helps Tobi see that the bond might not hold if Dustin moves too much or too fast. Afraid of losing Dustin again, Tobi helps him get hippy Marah and Kapri ready to replace their space ninja counterparts. Meanwhile, the others work together to dig out the Zord Bay with Cam. Later, Choobo shows up and takes Marah and Kapri back to Lothor's ship, thinking they're Lothor's nieces. Then Vexacus and Condortron arrive to kill Tobi and take the Sun Amulet...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 38 (Trading Traitors)**

* * *

"Why me?" Tobi asked as he paced between Vexacus standing next to Condortron and Dustin standing next to Geo as the boy held Destiny.

"It's simple really," Vexacus answered. "I'm here for the Sun Amulet."

Tobi instinctively glanced at his morpher.

"That's the one," Vexacus told him.

"You're not going to take it from me," Tobi replied, glaring at the shark-faced alien.

"Ah, but it will be so easy once you're a corpse," Vexacus said before waving toward the mechanical bird Condortron at his side. "Kill him!"

Instantly, Condortron flew toward Tobi, so Tobi raised his arms, sending out a wave of energy that forced the bird back. But, then, Condortron seemed to vanish.

"Where did—" Tobi began just as it appeared out of thin air, smashing into him with such a force that the bird flew him against a nearby building, where he hit the brick exterior with a loud and painful crack. He could feel something in his back snap and he found that he couldn't move or breathe.

Condortron seized this moment to fly him up to the roof, where he was thrown down. Yet, no sooner had he hit the roof then whatever had broken in him had already healed and he shot up to his feet. He knew he'd need to morph if he hoped to defeat Vexacus' creation, so he shouted, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

As soon as he was morphed, Condortron slammed into him, its sharp wings sending sparks along his suit, but he ignored the bird and streaked down from the building to find Dustin now morphed and standing protectively in front of Geo and Destiny.

"Call the others," Tobi told Dustin as he sent a wave of energy toward Vexacus just as—smash—he was hit from behind by Condortron. He spun around to fight it, but once again it had vanished. He left his back open to Vexacus and he quickly found himself being hurled through the air. And, as Tobi's morphed body was tossed around, all he could think was that their focus solely on him meant that Dustin would be safe.

* * *

"Just a little farther," Cam mumbled to himself as he tried to stretch his arm into a shaft to connect a cable to the back of the Zord Bay. He was interrupted by a beeping from the Samurai Amulet around his neck. He groaned, removing his hand and setting down the cable. "What is it?" he asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Dude, we need help!" Dustin's voice shouted from Cam's amulet. "TZT's in trouble!"

Cam glanced at the others before replying, "We're on our way." The others followed as he returned to the main room of Ninja Ops and pulled up on the computer screen an image of Vexacus and a strange bird creature attacking Tobi in tag-team fashion.

"It's my favorite fish," Shane commented sarcastically.

"Forget the fish joke," Blake interrupted. "Check out big bird."

"Why are they just attacking Tobi?" Tori asked.

"Better yet, why's it look like he's losing?" the other dimension's Shane asked. "I never thought I'd say this, but Tobi should be able to kick their asses."

"He's right," Hunter agreed, studying the screen. "I think it's 'cause he can't predict…" He glanced at his brother. "…'big bird's' moves."

"I can," Skyla suddenly spoke up.

"We're not bringing you,' Shane argued. "And, Cam, we should take the Mobile Command Center. We could use the bikes."

Cam nodded. "At least that's still online and ready to go."

"Then let's go," Shane urged. "Sensei, keep an eye on the… others while we're gone."

"Of course, Shane," Sensei agreed.

"I know I'm not a ninja," Skyla told Shane, adding, "_yet_, but…"

Shane watched her for a moment. "Maybe next time," he said, squeezing her hand before leaving with this dimension's Power Rangers.

* * *

Choobo led Marah and Kapri onto the bridge of Lothor's ship and the two looked around, noticing the similarities to Mayor Lothor's place back in their dimension.

"There you two are," Lothor greeted them sharply. "Where have you been?"

Marah and Kapri exchanged nervous glances. "Uh, we… uh…" Kapri mumbled.

"We were planning something evil," Marah finished.

Lothor paused, waiting. "I'm listening."

"Oh, well, you know," Kapri mumbled. "It was a plan to like defeat the Power Rangers."

"And how did that go?" Lothor asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Uh, well…" Marah replied, glancing at Kapri.

"Just as I thought," Lothor groaned. "Next time, if you tell me first, I can point out what you're doing wrong. Which, of course, would be everything," he added, walking over to a control panel. "Now, if you girls'll excuse me, it looks like _someone_ forgot to tell me when he planned to start his attack." On the viewscreen in front of him, an image appeared of Vexacus and Condortron attacked the gold ranger.

"Why does this Lothor have a southern accent?" Kapri whispered to Marah.

"I noticed that too," Marah whispered back. "Maybe he picked it up in space."

"Space cowboys?" Kapri asked.

Marah nodded.

"What are you two babbling about back there?" Lothor called. "Choobo, get me some popcorn. It's just gettin' good."

"Uh, sure," Choobo replied, turning to the girls. "Marah, go make some popcorn."

"Okay," Marah agreed, looking around.

"You're not gonna argue with me?" Choobo asked, surprised.

"Go make your own popcorn," Kapri said, trying to sound forceful.

"Okay," Choobo said. "Just don't hit me." He then scurried out of the room.

The girls exchanged surprised looks.

"Um, mayor—I mean, uncle," Marah quickly corrected. "Where do you keep your PAM?"

"In my hand," Lothor replied without glancing away from the screen. "After last time, I'm not letting you two near it again."

Marah and Kapri exchanged worried glances. "Not even if we want to use it to, uh, defeat the Power Rangers?" Marah added.

Lothor just laughed. "Choobo, where's that popcorn?"

* * *

Tobi concentrated on pushing a continuous wave of energy out from himself. It was the only way he'd been able to prevent all the surprise attacks from Condortron while also keeping back Vexacus.

"TZT, I can help you!" Dustin, still morphed, called to Tobi.

"No!" Tobi quickly called back, his momentary distraction causing his energy field to weaken enough to let in an attack that sent him sprawling across the ground.

Dustin started to run to Tobi's side, but a wave of dizziness stopped him and he too fell to the ground. "Dude, I have an idea," he announced, clutching his head. "I've only ever done this right when I'm morphed, but this is what I _tried_ to do in the cave."

"Dustin!" was all Tobi managed to shout just as he saw Dustin's morphed body blur and then split in two, forming two identical yellow rangers.

One of the yellow rangers ran toward Tobi. This time, no wave of dizziness stopped him. "Dude, it worked!" he cheered while helping Tobi up.

"How'd you do that?" Tobi asked, glancing back at the remaining yellow ranger as the one with him hugged him.

"That's what I'd like to know," the other yellow ranger asked, approaching. "I know how you split, even though I've never done it myself, but how did you know each of our spirits would stick to one of the two halves?"

"I didn't," Dustin replied, releasing Tobi with a shrug. "I just figured both couldn't be dizzy."

"Dustin and… Waldo?" Tobi realized, glancing between the two identical rangers.

"We've each got our own bodies now, Tobs," the other yellow ranger replied.

"Awesome," was all the one with Tobi said, again hugging him.

"But I'm pretty sure it's temporary," the other added. "How long have you been able to do this splitting before?"

"Not long," Dustin replied. "I've never done it for more than like a few minutes tops."

Tobi opened the visor on his helmet, but, as Dustin did the same on his own helmet, he noticed that Dustin's face was dim. It took him a moment to realize that Dustin's face was semi-transparent.

"What?" Dustin asked as Waldo blocked an attack from Condortron.

"I can see through you," Tobi whispered, reaching up to touch Dustin's face with his gloved hand, but finding it passed right through him until it reached the back of Dustin's helmet. He quickly removed his hand and promptly ran it down Dustin's morphed arm.

Dustin's expression flickered as he held Tobi firmly by the arms. "At least I can touch you, even if it's with gloves. And, TZT, we're not dizzy." He lowered his voice. "And I get at least a little privacy up here." He pointed to his head.

Just then, Waldo was knocked to the ground and Dustin closed his visor and turned to help fight off the attacks. "We've got your back," he called.

"For now," the other added.

Tobi stared between the two and nodded. "Thanks."

Then Vexacus waved his arms and strings of light shot out from his fingers, quickly tying up the three morphed rangers and lifting them into the air, where Condortron swept by them, its metal wings sending sparks flying along their morphed bodies.

That was when a red energy blast shot at Vexacus, distracting him long enough to release Tobi and the two yellow rangers, who fell to the ground.

The three looked over to see a series of Tsunami Cycles ride up, each driven by an already morphed Power Ranger.

Shane's red bike sent a blast of energy out, knocking Condortron back before it could advance.

Tori noticed Geo holding Destiny and called, "I'll take Geo back to the Mobile Command Center." She then noticed the two Dustins.

"Hey, Tor, we're not stuck in one body," one told her.

"For now," the other added.

"Uh, right," she mumbled, carrying Geo and Destiny to her blue cycle.

One of the two yellow rangers ran over to the other rangers. "They're after TZT," he explained.

"They want Tobs' Sun Amulet," the other yellow ranger added.

Hunter looked between the two as the one that had run up to them hugged him.

"Dude, I got a body again!" Dustin cheered. "Well, sorta," he added, releasing him.

"That's…" Hunter began slowly.

"Awesome, I know!" Dustin agreed, hastily adding, "Hurry up. We need to help kick butt."

Hunter nodded, but, just then, Motodrone materialized between Vexacus and the rangers. He was surrounded by a horde of kelzaks. "Miss me?" he asked.

"This is my battle," Vexacus growled.

Motodrone simply pointed toward the rangers and yelled, "Attack!"

As Motodrone and his kelzaks focused on the other rangers, this left Vexacus free to focus solely on the gold ranger.

Tori returned on her bike, blasting her way through the kelzaks toward Tobi, but Hunter, on his own bike, was the first to make it to the gold ranger. But, before he could come between Vexacus and Tobi, Condortron smashed into him, knocking him off his bike. Quickly jumping back onto the cycle, he called, "Crimson Glider Bike, flight mode, engage!"

Lifting into the air, Hunter's bike began to transform, its wheels raising and becoming propellers attached to its wings. Now in the air, Hunter chased Condortron through the sky.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the two yellow rangers were fighting in perfect harmony against Vexacus, their mental connection leaving at least some connection between them.

Tobi blasted a beam of burning light toward Vexacus, who removed his sword and bounced it toward one of the yellow rangers, who was sent sliding across the ground with smoke rising from his suit.

"Dustin!" Hunter's voice called form overhead as he dove his glider back toward the gournd.

Vexacus glanced up, sending a ball of black and yellow energy toward the glider and causing its controls to spark. No sooner had Hunter began to lose control then Condortron flew by, knocking the glider into a spin, where it tumbled to the earth and exploded into a massive fireball.

"Hunter!" both yellow rangers called in unison, running toward the flames and smoke.

Before Tobi could even join them, Vexacus had used a glowing string of energy to pull Tobi toward him. He stabbed his sword against Tobi's chest, but Tobi's morphed state prevented it from entering him. Still, it sent him to the ground writhing in pain.

He managed to look up to see the two yellow rangers helping a limping and still morphed Hunter away from the wreckage as he clutched his side.

Vexacus used Tobi's distraction to quickly slice his sword across Tobi's morpher, causing it to spark and his suit to flicker before he unmorphed.

"Lucky I came when I did," Motodrone said, sitting atop his bike as the other rangers were either on the ground or still battling kelzaks.

"I didn't request backup," Vexacus snapped.

"We will leave you this time," Motodrone replied, watching the severely injured Tobi, "but beware. I'm watching you." The warning lingered in the air as Motodrone and his kelzaks vanished.

The rangers hobbled toward Tobi, but suddenly found themselves being knocked away by a quickly appearing and disappearing Condortron.

After a moment, though, the voice of Skyla came from Shane's morpher, warning him before each of the mechanical bird's attacks.

With one swift movement, Vexacus stabbed Tobi's no longer morphed chest with his sword, its blade easily slicing right through him. He gasped, crumping as the sword was removed, its blade now crimson.

"No!" the others shouted, trying to run to Tobi while also avoiding Condortron.

Vexacus looked up, noticing the red ranger anticipate Condortron's moves and called, "Return to the ship. I'll handle this myself."

Condortron shot straight up into the sky, vanishing. The rangers looked up, echoing a confused, "Huh?"

"Any last words?" Vexacus asked, but he seemed to be directing his question to the other rangers, not Tobi.

"Yeah," Cam declared, an unexpected edge in his voice. "Super Samurai Mode!" he called, throwing down his gold vest with a crash and spinning his visor around.

Vexacus just laughed as strings of light shot out from his fingers, trying around each of the rangers and lifting them into the air. "I'm pulling the strings now," he laughed as the rangers were knocked into each other in the air. "Dance, my puppets!"

This gave Tobi's body enough time to heal and he turned to Vexacus, his eyes glowing. "Let them go!" he growled out.

"Sure!" Vexacus quickly agreed and Tobi's momentary surprise at his easy release of the others left him open to a blade once again puncturing his chest. But, this time, Vexacus let two glowing tentacles stretch out from one of his hands and right through Tobi's open chest. They wrapped around his two sides, lifting him. But, more than that, they began to tear him in two.

Vexacus raised his sword over Tobi's left arm that had the morpher on it, aiming to slice it off, but his sword clashed against two others. Looking up, he saw two yellow rangers, swords extended.

"Leave him alone!" one of the identical rangers shouted.

"Dude, you _so_ don't wanna mess with us," the other agreed, slicing through the tentacles.

The other rangers were quick to run to Tobi. And, as Cam pulled Tobi back, the others stood protectively in front of their severely injured friend. It was a wall of Power Rangers that Vexacus would now have to deal with.

But, to their surprise, Vexacus just chuckled before vanishing. The moment he was gone, the ground began to shake. Out of the earth emerged a massive shark head. It tore through the earth, ripping apart the ground. Atop the massive creature, near its oversized fin, stood Vexacus, shouting, "Land Shark Attack!"

As the enormous shark plowed through the rangers, they were sent flying, each smashing into a separate building. Tobi looked up from the slowing sealing hole in his chest to see the two yellow rangers thrown roughly to the ground, where they flickered for a moment before remerging into a single yellow ranger lying motionless.

Before Tobi could try to call out, the massive shark that Vexacus had been riding was gone and Vexacus grabbed Tobi roughly. The alien glanced over at the other rangers as they helped each other up before calling to them, "I'm sorry I can't finish you all now, but I have what I came for." And then, he and Tobi were both gone, vanishing into thin air.

The others ran over to where the two had been, but the only thing left of Tobi was his blood stains.

"We have to go after him," Tori told the others.

"Agreed," Cam said, before looking around. "Where are my cousins?"

Dustin seemed dazed and hesitated before answering. "Choobo took them to Lothor's ship. He thinks they're Lothor's nieces." He looked at Cam, pausing before continuing. "I gave them a morpher, so we can keep in touch."

"Right," Shane said. "Then we should get back to the Mobile Command Center."

"Dustin… both Dustins now, don't worry," Hunter told him, approaching and placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him back."

"Uh, yeah," Dustin mumbled. "I… uh, we hope so." He glanced nervously back at Cam as the group returned to the Mobile Command Center. "Cam, can I… talk to you?"

"Right now?" Cam asked. "Hunter's right, we'll get him back."

"It's not just that," Dustin began. He lowered his voice, whispering, "Dustin's gone."

"What?" Cam snapped.

"Don't tell the others," Dustin said quickly. "When we separated, we were each in one of the two morphed halves, but, when the two parts remerged, I realized… it's just me again, Waldo. He's… gone."

Cam sighed. "I was afraid it wouldn't hold, but why are you telling me and not the others."

Dustin glanced toward Hunter. "You actually like me and I'm afraid they'll… over react."

Cam followed his gaze to Hunter. "I suppose that's possible. We'll discuss this later." He paused. "And, Waldo, I'm glad you trust me."

By this time, the rangers were entered the large truck that served as the Mobile Command Center and Cam quickly approached the screen at the front of the vehicle, adjusting its scan for a morpher that would be in space.

* * *

Vexacus and Tobi appeared in a dark hallway inside Lothor's ship, apparently alone. Vexacus quickly reached down, tearing the morpher from Tobi's wrist. "Now, tell me how this works and I will make your death as painless as possible," he said while trying to pry the Sun Amulet off the morpher.

"It won't work for you," Tobi said, coughing on his own blood. Without the amulet, his body's healing process was severely weakening him. "It just recharges me when I heal myself or use my abilities."

"I haven't seen this bonding technique since…" Vexacus whispered to himself, seemingly ignoring Tobi. "Aquitar," he realized. "The Alien Rangers of Aquitar must have bonded the Sun Amulet to the morpher. Still, I will find a way."

"Why not let me have a look?" a voice asked, startling Vexacus, who turned to see Lothor approaching, Motodrone a few paces behind him.

"I was just about to bring this to you," Vexacus said quickly, handing the morpher to Lothor.

"I bet you were," Lothor replied, glaring at Vexacus as he took the morpher and studied it. "Aquitarian bonding technique," he said dismissively. "It's power is bound to the morpher and the morpher is aligned to the gold ranger specifically."

Behind him, he heard a gasp as Marah and Kapri approached. They held each other back, fighting the urge to run to Tobi. "Is he okay?" Marah asked, quickly adding, "not that we care."

"Oh, him?" Lothor asked, glancing at Tobi dismissively. "Vexacus, dispose of him."

"With pleasure," Vexacus agreed, raising his sword.

"Don't!" Kapri shouted before she could stop herself.

Lothor stared at the girls. "Do you two have a problem with me having one of the rangers killed?"

"Of course not," Marah said quickly, "but…"

"We have a better idea," Kapri added.

"We do?" Marah asked, looking at Kapri. When Kapri just shrugged, she said, "Oh, yeah, we do." Thinking quickly, she explained, "You said the amulet only works for Tobi, so if you kill him, it would be useless, right?"

Lothor paused, surprised. "You're right for once in your life," he agreed, studying the morpher in his hand.

"Maybe he could like work for us, I mean you?" Kapri added.

"There's an idea," Lothor mused, staring down at Tobi's crumpled and bleeding body as he quietly whimpered in pain to himself. "But, as I recall, we tried that with a certain pair of thunder rangers and their loyalties didn't last, even with Choobo's mind control."

"Did someone call me?" Choobo asked, entering the hallway. "Is this a secret meeting or something?"

"Choobo," Lothor addressed, "remind me why the mind control failed with those thunder ingrates."

"It didn't last long enough," Choobo explained. "It wasn't my fault."

Lothor nodded, thinking while Marah and Kapri watched him nervously. "But we may not need it to work for long," he finally said, "not with how quickly this new gold ranger managed to defeat my best general."

"Sir, I—" Vexacus began to interrupt, but Lothor put up a hand.

"He could have the rest of the rangers wiped out before supper," Lothor continued. "Speaking of which, Vexacus, you're on kitchen duty."

"Why me?" Vexacus grumbled, surprised.

"Because I'll need Choobo," Lothor said simply. "Now carry him onto the bridge and put him under the stasis field."

As Marah and Kapri helped carry Tobi, Marah whispered, "We'll think of something," before Tobi passed out from the strain of his body's healing process combined with the pain and blood loss.

Once in the main bridge of Lothor's ship, Tobi was placed in the center of the room, where a glowing energy field surrounded him, keeping him motionless.

A beeping came from Marah's outfit, startling her.

"What's that sound?" Lothor asked as Choobo began the mind control process.

"Uh, popcorn," Kapri said.

Marah blinked at her for a moment before agreeing. "Yeah, we'll go check on it." Then the two ran out of the room.

"Is it just me or are those two acting even stranger than usual?" Lothor asked.

"Uh, they're usually strange?" Choobo asked, confused.

Lothor groaned. "Just get on with it," he ordered. "The thought of putting Vexacus on kitchen duty makes my stomach churn."

As Marah and Kapri left the bridge, they ran into Motodrone. "And where are you two going in such a hurry?" he asked.

"Popcorn," Kapri explained quickly.

"The kitchen is that way," Motodrone said, pointing.

"Of course it is," Marah replied, leading Kapri off. The moment they left, Vexacus approached Motodrone.

"So, how is our little golden spy?" Vexacus asked in a snide tone.

"I was just following orders," Motodrone explained as Shimazu scampered over to the two. "You should try doing the same."

Vexacus laughed, patting Motodrone's shoulder. "Who says I wasn't?" He then turned and left.

"I know he can't be trusted," Motodrone grumbled to Shimazu.

Meanwhile, Marah and Kapri found a deserted part of the ship and Marah pulled Dustin's still beeping morpher from her outfit. Fumbling with the buttons, she asked, "Yes? Dustin, is that you?"

"It's me, Cam," Cam's voice came from the morpher.

"Shh," Kapri warned.

"Are you two alright?" Cam asked.

"We're fine, Cam," Marah replied, "but Tobi's in bad shape and they plan to brainwash him or something to turn him against you guys."

"He said something about mind controlled thunder rangers," Kapri added.

"Lothor's going to try a repeat of what he did to me and Blake," Hunter's voice cut in.

"But it didn't work," Blake's voice pointed out.

"It worked long enough," Hunter added. "And, with Tobi, all he needs is a moment to destroy us all."

"Uh, don't listen to my brother, the pessimist," Blake interrupted.

"Marah, Kapri," Cam addressed. "Try to see if you can figure out how this mind control works and see if you can disable it without being caught."

"Sure, thing, cousin," Kapri agreed.

"We'll do what we can, Cam," Marah added. "And tell Dustin thanks for giving us the morpher."

Cam paused before agreeing. "I will."

Marah then put the morpher away in her outfit and the two returned to the bridge.

* * *

The screen in front of Cam went back to displaying a map of where the Mobile Command Center was driving the moment the communication with Marah and Kapri ended.

"She's right," Hunter said, turning to Dustin. "It's a good thing you thought of giving her Dustin's morpher. One of you, anyway."

"Yeah, one of us," Dustin agreed. He glanced at Cam, who seemed to be giving him a look that said he should tell him. "Hunter, I…" he began. "I lost the connection with Dustin's spirit. It's… just me." He flinched away as if expecting Hunter to hit him.

"Oh," was all Hunter said, looking at Dustin…Waldo and blinking.

"You're not going to… freak out?" Waldo asked, surprised.

"I'm not going to react like Tobi, if that's what you mean," Hunter replied. "I guess I'm more used to dealing with loss than him."

"Maybe you just accept it easier," Waldo suggested. "When Tobs' mom died, it took him a long time to come to terms with her death."

Hunter nodded. "Speaking of Tobi, let's… not tell him if he's under Lothor's control. It might be… disasterous."

"I'm with you on that, dude," Waldo agreed.

Hunter looked at him quickly. "Did you just say 'dude?'"

"I guess so," Waldo realized. "Maybe some of Dustin's way of thinking rubbed off on me while he was sharing my head. He… has an interesting outlook on life."

"That's one way of putting it," Hunter agreed.

"It's nice to have a positive way of seeing things that I used to brood over," Waldo added.

"Brood?" Hunter repeated.

"Dwell on, you know?" Waldo clarified.

"Yeah, I know," Hunter agreed. "And… Waldo, I want you to know, I don't hate you."

Waldo gave him a surprised look.

"I know I asked you to trade your life for Dustin's, but I was wrong," Hunter continued. "I'm… sorry."

"Thanks, Hunter," Waldo replied, smiling. He felt an instinct to hug the blonde but stopped himself.

"I was wondering, why did you both come over to me when my glider crashed?" Hunter asked.

"Oh," Waldo replied, blushing. "I guess another thing of Dustin's rubbed off on me."

"What's that?" Hunter asked.

"The way he feels about you," Waldo explained. "He doesn't call it love, but that's what he feels for you. For a lot of people, actually," he added, "but something special for you. It's not like with Tobi, but it's… special."

Hunter blinked, his eyes becoming moist.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Waldo said quickly. "I shouldn't have brought that up."

"No, it's okay," Hunter reassured him. He surprised Waldo by hugging him. "I'm just glad one of you is here."

Waldo hesitated before hugging Hunter back. "So am I," he whispered, adding, "dude."

* * *

As the rangers reentered Ninja Ops, Shane approached Skyla. "Thanks for the help," he told her with a smile.

"It was all I could do, not being there," she replied, making it obvious she wished she could do more.

Shane took her in his arms. "Trust me, Skyla, I'm really glad you weren't there this time."

"Where's Tobi?" Tobi's sister asked, noticing her brother's absence.

"Vexacus took him," Cam answered as he approached his computer and sat down.

"Lothor's going to try to brainwash him to make him evil," Tori added.

"And?" Tobi's sister asked.

"And what?" Blake asked.

"What are we going to do about it?" Tobi's sister asked, almost shouting.

"I'm working on that," Cam said as he typed.

She turned back to him. "At least someone's always on top of things around here."

Cam just nodded as he worked.

"I'm sorry, Cam," she apologized. "It's just… ever since the whole suicide thing, I get really worried about him."

"I know," he replied.

"You… oh, well, I guess you do," she said. "So, is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can let me concentrate," he told her.

"Sheesh," she mumbled. "I can take a hint."

He turned to her. "I'm sorry," he said. "You can help. If he is under Lothor's control, you're still his sister and his feelings for you might be enough to snap him out of it."

"You sure I'm the one to do that?" she asked skeptically. "I haven't exactly been the perfect sister to him over the years."

"Don't underestimate the power of love," Cam said.

She chuckled. "I can't believe you just said that."

"It's something the other Tori said to me one time," he explained.

"Oh," she mumbled, glancing over at Tori. "Yeah, maybe she'd be able to break Lothor's spell better than me. She's obviously a more caring person than me."

"That's not true," he disagreed. "You're not the person you think you are."

"And who do think I am?" she asked, surprised.

"Someone who only cares about herself," he explained.

"Really? Because that sounds just like me," she argued.

"Then why did you just tell me how worried you are about Tobi and then offer to help me?" he asked.

"Point taken," she conceded.

"I know something else you could do," he added.

"What's that?" she asked.

"See what information about this mind control you can get out of the Marah and Kapri we have here," he suggested.

"Sure," she agreed.

"Good luck," he told her. "You'll need it."

"Thanks, Cam," she said, patting his shoulder.

"Really, it's all of us who should be thanking you for being the one to talk to them," he replied.

"No, I mean thanks for knowing that I needed something to do to keep me from going crazy with worry," she corrected.

"Oh, well, I figured as much," he agreed.

"You're so smart, Cam," she said, patting his head. She leaned in, whispering, "Smarter than my dimension's Dustin—or Waldo, but keep that to yourself." She winked at him before walking over to space ninja Marah and Kapri and declaring, "Okay, girls, it's time to talk."

"I thought, like, you were on our side," Marah argued.

"Ancient history," she retorted. "Now, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm hoping you pick the hard way myself."

"Just a warning," the other dimension's Shane told Marah and Kapri, "she hits _really_ hard." He then chuckled to himself as the girls' eyes widened in horror.

"I guess some things about the two Toris are definitely the same," Blake commented.

Tori promptly hit him. And, yes, even this dimension's Tori hit _hard_.

* * *

Lothor paced around Tobi as he stood in the center of the bridge of Lothor's space ship, a vacant look in his eyes. "Who are you loyal to?" Lothor asked him.

"You, my master," Tobi replied, a grin spreading over his face.

"And what are you going to do to the Power Rangers?" Lothor asked.

"Destroy them," Tobi growled. "Burn them from the inside out."

"Music to my ears," Lothor cooed, clapping his hands. "Do what you did to Zurgane to the rangers." He sighed momentarily. "Zurgane may have failed me too many times, but he deserved more than to be a pile of ash."

Suddenly Tobi began choking, looking around.

"Choobo, what's happening?" Lothor snapped, stepping away from Tobi.

"Maybe it was bringing up ash," Choobo suggested. "I think he's touchy on that because of the yellow ranger."

"I see," Lothor said, nodding. "Well, do something before we all end up like that useless yellow ranger."

"Dustin was _not_ useless!" Marah shouted before covering her mouth with both hands. Kapri gave her a warning look.

"Yes, yes," Lothor said, brushing off her reaction. "We all know about your obsession over the yellow ranger. As I recall, you used up all the tissues with your incessant crying and I had to blow my nose in your hair. Though, the snot was an improvement." He looked at Kapri for support.

"Uh, yeah, totally," she agreed.

Marah gave her a worried look, but, the moment Lothor turned his back, she hugged her sister. He spun around, but she quickly tugged on Marah's hair, eliciting an "Ow!" from Marah.

"Where am I?" Tobi asked, looking around.

"Choobo!" Lothor called.

"I'm turning up the energy pulse," Choobo replied, but I don't wanna do it too fast or it'll fry his brain."

"Here, let me try," Vexacus demanded, pushing Choobo aside and turning a dial.

Tobi instantly fell to the ground as a red glow struck his head. "Ah!" he screamed in pain, clutching his head.

Lothor stomped over to Vexacus and Choobo, lowering the dial. "What are you doing?" he asked, glaring at Vexacus.

"Just trying to get results," Vexacus replied calmly. "You deserve that much, don't you?"

Lothor frowned. "I do, don't I?"

Meanwhile, Marah and Kapri had rushed to help Tobi up.

"I take it he's alive," Lothor said, approaching Tobi, "and no worse for the wear."

"And ready to serve you," Vexacus asked, approaching Tobi. "Right?"

"Of course, my master," Tobi told Vexacus, a faint glow behind his eyes.

Lothor glared at Vexacus. "_I'm _your master," he corrected Tobi.

Tobi nodded. "Yes, master."

"Do you remember what you are to do?" Lothor asked.

"Destroy the Power Rangers," Tobi replied, adding, "and then…"

"Wait, there wasn't an 'and then,'" Lothor pointed out.

"And then, the world," Tobi finished.

"Just stick to the Power Rangers," Lothor warned, leaning forward and sticking a finger in Tobi's face. "It's hard to be a ruler without subjects."

Tobi shrugged. "If that's what you want."

"I do," Lothor told him.

Tobi grinned. "Then you'll have it."

"Good," Lothor concluded, clapping his palms together. "Choobo, take him down to earth while I set the recorder on the viewer. This one I'm going to want to remember."

"Sir, I'll take him," Vexacus quickly volunteered, stepping between Choobo and Tobi.

"Very well, but be quick about it," Lothor agreed. "I've been waiting a long time for this moment and I don't want any screw-ups."

"So have I," Vexacus whispered as he led Tobi out into the hall.

Marah and Kapri discretely followed them, hiding behind a corner.

"I have a last minute request," Vexacus told Tobi, glancing around to make sure the two were alone.

"Anything, master," Tobi agreed.

"The crimson ranger has fragments of the Gem of Souls," Vexacus explained. "Once he and the others are destroyed , I want those fragments… and the Sun Amulet."

Tobi nodded. "I understand."

"And, remember, you are to give them to me and not mention this to Lothor," Vexacus added.

"Of course, master," Tobi agreed.

Vexacus then patted Tobi's shoulder and the two vanished.

"We have to warn the others," Marah told Kapri.

"We need to steal Lothor's PAM so we can get off this ship," Kapri added.

That was when the two noticed Motodrone and Shimazu standing behind them.

"Uh, we were talking about our uncle's cooking spray," Kapri hastily explained.

"A likely story," Motodrone growled. "If I didn't have Vexacus' treachery to deal with, I'd turn you two in myself for whatever you're planning."

"Planning?" Marah repeated, trying to sound clueless.

Motodrone grumbled, stepping around Shimazu and leaving. "First Vexacus and then those two," he continued as he left.

The girls exchanged nervous glances. "We need to call the others," Marah insisted and the two snuck off to find a quiet spot.

* * *

"Thanks for letting us know," Cam said to Marah and Kapri on his screen. "At the first opportunity that presents itself, you two should get out of there."

"What about his PAM?" Marah asked.

Cam sighed. "We'd rather have you to back."

"Aw, we love you too, cousin," Kapri cooed.

"Uh, yeah," Cam mumbled. "Just see if you can sabotage the mind control beam before you leave. According to our Marah and Kapri down here, it's located on the bridge and—"

"We know where it is," Marah interrupted. "And we'll see what we can do." She paused. "The Tobi that left wasn't the Tobi we know. He was… mean. Be careful."

Cam nodded. "Always," he agreed and the image of the girls vanished. He then turned in his seat to the others. "A mind controlled Tobi is on his way and…" He paused, looking at Hunter. "Vexacus seems to be under the impression that you have the Gem of Souls."

Hunter fidgeted. "I was going to tell you," he began.

"But I threw the remains into the ocean," Cam pointed out.

"Not all of them," Hunter said, removing a pouch and opening it to reveal the fragments to the Gem of Souls.

"I thought maybe they'd help me see my parents," Hunter explained.

"And he didn't even tell me either," Blake added.

Hunter sighed and shrugged.

"I understand that sometimes your loss is difficult to accept," Sensei said, hopping over next to Cam, "but what's done is done. You can never go back in time."

"Actually, that's not true," Waldo interrupted. "I mean, you can use a scroll." He looked toward Cam, who smiled at him, nodding.

"Sensei," Hunter continued, "I know my parents aren't completely gone, that they're spirits and that these fragments give me the power to bind a spirit to a body. Knowing that I can save a life doesn't mean I'm denying the fact that I've lost people I love." There was an earnestness in his voice as he gripped the shards.

Sensei paused, thinking. "I am not as worried about your temptation to abuse the power, Hunter, as I am of the gem falling into Lothor's hands."

"What can he do with the Gem of Souls?" Shane asked. "It can only be used for good."

"Except when it was used to open the Abyss of Evil in the other dimension," Cam reminded them.

Sensei visibly flinched.

"Sensei, is there something you know that you're not telling us?" Tori asked.

"You merely need to know that the gem must not leave Ninja Ops," Sensei replied.

"He knows exactly what'll happen if Lothor gets his hands on those pieces," Tobi's sister interrupted, "but he's afraid it'll scare you all."

"Dad?" Cam asked, looking from her to his father.

"Son, rangers," Sensei addressed, "you must trust that there are some things you are not ready to hear."

"It's about your destiny," Skyla explained, "and he's right."

"Okay, then," Shane agreed, shrugging.

Cam reached out. "I'll hold on to that."

Hunter reluctantly handed him the sack.

"Is this really all this time?" Cam asked.

Hunter nodded. "Cam, I didn't know you back then, when I tried to kill your dad. Now that I… Now that you're my friend, I would never lie to you."

Cam smiled at him. "Thanks."

Hunter set a hand on Cam's hand that held the sack. "I _am_ sorry for keeping that from you."

"I know," Cam said, looking down at Hunter's hand before he pulled it away.

A beeping from the computer caused Cam to turn around.

"You really have a thing for blondes, don't you, loverboy?" Tobi's sister whispered into his ear before he brushed her off.

"It's Tobi," Cam announced. "He's… here."

"Here, as in…" Waldo prompted.

"As in, he's coming through the waterfall portal now," Cam said, hopping up from his chair as the others ran outside.

* * *

Tobi was standing alone in the center of a field of black, charred grass that served as a reminder of just what he was capable of.

"Tobi?" Cam asked hesitantly.

"You're going down," Tobi growled as his dimension's rangers also emerged from the hatch leading down into Ninja Ops.

"Tobi, don't—" Tori began before a wave of force exploded out from Tobi, knocking the group over and sending them sliding across the burnt grass. A cloud of ash blew up into the air.

"Tobi, we're your friends," Hunter insisted, standing up.

"You're no friends of mine," Tobi growled, waving a hand and causing Hunter to burst into flames.

Tori gasped before spraying the blonde with water. He coughed and his skin was blistered, but he was alive.

"Hunter," Waldo called, running to him.

"Tobi, please…" Tori begged, turning from Hunter with tears in her eyes.

That was when Tori burst into flames, but this time it was Tobi's sister who put her out.

"Tobs, stop this," Waldo demanded as he knelt over Hunter, instinctively taking his hand.

"Call him TZT," Hunter choked out.

"I'm not going to lie to him," Waldo said, turning to Tobi and standing before slowly walking closer to him. "Tobs, I lost Dustin's spirit. If you're going to hurt anyone, hurt me, but leave the others alone. Leave them—" He gasped, falling to the ground as he coughed up blood and felt his insides burn.

"You'll have your turn," Tobi growled as the others approached him.

"Dustin, morph!" Tobi's sister shouted, running to him.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form," Waldo said weakly.

As he morphed, Shane nodded toward the others. Together, each of this dimension's rangers morphed.

"This'll be fun," Tobi mused, calling, "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" and morphing as well. He then backflipped into Blake while also kicking Shane to the ground.

"Guys, stay back," the other dimension's Shane warned his dimension's rangers, none of whom were morphed because the others were. "This is a losing battle."

"Tobi, we don't want to fight you," Tori pleaded as she tried to block his punches.

"So, you'd all rather die than fight me?" Tobi growled.

"She's not saying that," Blake said, stepping in front of Tori and kicking Tobi back.

"You two _soulmates_ want to be together so bad?" Tobi asked, blocking Blake. "Let me help you." He then waved his arms, sending waves of energy between Tori and Blake and slamming the two into each other with a loud smack that resembled the clap of thunder.

Hunter limped over to the two, checking on them, but they were motionless. "Tobi, what about _your_ soulmate?" he asked, looking up at Tobi. "What about Dustin?"

Tobi blinked for a moment before a red glow erupted from his head and he yelped in pain. After a moment, he declared, "Dustin is dead, just like all of you will be." His eyes were now glowing so brightly that they could be seen through his closed visor.

"Dustin's spirit is—" Cam began before a streak of light came from Tobi, slicing through Cam and instantly causing him to demorph. He fell to the ground, the blood on his chest bubbling and smoldering.

"Cam!" the others shouted, making their way to him. But, as they did, Tobi either kicked or forced them back.

Tobi's sister was closest to Cam, so she checked on him while Tori called out, "Is he okay?"

She shook her head, staring down at Cam. "So much for being the smart one, Cam," she whispered as she used water to cool his boiling blood.

"We need to fight back," Waldo told Shane. "If we don't, we're doomed."

Shane reluctantly nodded, removing his Hawk Blaster. "Guys, we take Tobi out, just not… all the way."

The others nodded in agreement, removing their weapons. They then began an all out assault against the gold ranger and their former friend, Tobi.

* * *

"We have to do something," Marah whispered to Kapri as the two stood behind Lothor while he watched the fight unfold on his viewscreen.

"Like, a distraction?" Kapri suggested.

Marah nodded, whispering, "You freeze the floor. When Choobo slips, I'll burn the controls."

"And we'll blame it on Choobo?" Kapri asked. "I don't like lying."

"Neither do I, but we have to or the others will die," Marah replied.

Kapri reluctantly agreed and the two sisters hugged before getting into position.

"Wait for my signal," Marah whispered.

At that moment, Vexacus noticed Motodrone entering the bridge holding a scroll and Vexacus immediately walked over to interrupt him. "Going somewhere?" Vexacus asked.

"Out of my way," Motodrone barked. "I need to make my report to Lothor."

"Lothor can't be disturbed right now," Vexacus said, pushing Motodrone out into the hall, "but I'll help you out." He yanked the scroll out of Motodrone's hand. "Hmm, says here Vexacus, that's me, is disloyal, disobedient and may be planning to take over the ship. It even goes on to say something about Lothor's nieces. Now, why would you report something like that?"

"Because it's true," Motodrone snapped.

"Well, then, I guess the last person I'd want to know that is Lothor, isn't it?" Vexacus sneered.

Motodrone reached for the scroll, but Vexacus quickly pulled it away.

"I'll just be hanging on to this," Vexacus told him.

"You can't," Motodrone insisted.

"And who's going to stop me?" Vexacus asked, pulling out a fan and fanning himself lazily.

Motodrone growled, throwing off his cloak and trying to kick the scroll out of Vexacus' hand.

"Fool!" Vexacus declared. "Back off or perish."

Motodrone swung at Vexacus, who flipped backward further down the hall before returning a forceful punch of his own.

"Do you submit?" Vexacus asked as Motodrone skidded backward.

"Never!' Motodrone replied sharply.

"I warned you," Vexacus said, raising his hands. A yellow beam shot out toward Motodrone, causing him to fall to the ground and begin melting until he was nothing but a pile of smoking gold metal.

Vexacus then reentered the bridge in time to see Choobo slip and fall onto the panel, which promptly exploded despite how lightly he had hit it.

Lothor groaned loudly. "You better not have ruined what was turning out to be the end of the Power Rangers," he called without looking away from the screen.

"Uh, the mind control will last for a little while longer at least," Choobo defended, studying the panel.

"I hope you're right," Lothor told him, "for your sake."

Marah and Kapri lowered their arms, exchanging looks.

"What's that smell?" Lothor asked, sniffing and crinkling his nose.

"Motodrone had a little meltdown," Vexacus said with a chuckle as Lothor set down his PAM and Marah and Kapri again exchanged looks.

* * *

Back on Earth, outside Ninja Ops the rangers that were still able to fight were quickly losing the battle against Tobi.

"This has been fun while it lasted," Tobi said, "but enough is enough." He held out his hand and what looked like a small sun formed in it. The sun then exploded, a wave tearing through the ash covered ground and sending dirt and trees flying while also throwing the rangers back. This dimension's rangers were instantly demorphed while the other dimension's rangers tumbled backwards, the wave causing their bones to shatter.

Tobi began to hover over the ground, flames rising up around him as his body began to glow brighter and brighter. "Say goodbye, Power Rangers."

"Tobi, don't," his sister called weakly. Her right arm and leg were completely broken, just dangling along as she crawled toward her brother. Still, compared to some of the others, she was in good shape. "Tobi, I lo…" But, before she could finish, her body burst into flames. Only, this time, Tori was unconscious and unable to help her and she couldn't do much to help herself.

Just then, Skyla emerged from Ninja Ops.

"Skyla, go back!" Shane choked out while clutching his chest. He had a hole right through him and he could feel his eyes rolling back into his head.

"I can't," she whispered as she tossed something toward Tobi's sister. "Throw them at him, now," she called just as a beam of light hit her body and she fell to the ground, her lungs crushed.

Tobi's sister could literally see the flames dancing on her now black skin as she noticed what was lying on the grass in front of her. Skyla had thrown her the fragments of the Gem of Souls. Tobi's sister feebly lifted the fragments and tossed them at her brother. She didn't see what happened after that because her eyes had burned, blinding her.

As the gem shards hit Tobi's body, a light flickered around him and the glow around his body intensified until he was a blinding light that made the sun look dim by comparison.

Then a shock wave blew out from him, sweeping over the ground and the dying rangers. But, this time, instead of destroying everything in its wake, something completely different happened.

The black charred grass around Tobi began to regrow, becoming green. Even the trees pulled themselves up by the roots. And, as the wave reached the rangers, their injuries, no matter how severe, healed themselves.

When it was over, the light faded and everything was quiet, even the birds.

The others looked up and then at each other, relief clear on all their faces not only for the fact that they had survived, but because those they cared about were perfectly healthy after being so close to death.

"Your… hair," Cam told Tobi's sister.

She reached up, feeling the short blonde spikes that were all that had grown back after her severe burns were healed.

Then they tuned to Tobi.

Tobi was lying flat on his back on a blanket of green grass filled with freshly grown yellow dandelions, his arms and legs spread. His eyes were closed and his expression was neutral.

"Tobi?" his sister asked, kneeling over him. When he didn't respond, she looked at the others for support.

"I'll get my medical kit," Cam told her, running back inside.

"When Tobi threw the other dimension's Gem of Souls at Zordon, he was stripped of his powers, but he didn't die," Hunter said as he checked Tobi's pulse.

"He… can't die," Waldo whispered.

"Dustin's right," the other dimension's Blake added. "Tobi's too tough."

"Now you dudes notice," this dimension's Cam commented.

"We were wrong, Cam," the other dimension's Hunter told him, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Skyla, why did you need us to throw the gem at Tobi right then?" Shane asked as he set Skyla in his lap and held her. "Is Tobi now _powerless_?"

"Tobi did something to the gem when he threw it at Zordon," she explained. "I don't know if this Gem of Souls took away Tobi's powers, but that's not why I felt it needed to happen."

"Then why?" Tori asked, approaching.

"Because of what Dustin was trying to do right then," she replied.

"Me?" Waldo asked.

"No, the other Dustin," she corrected.

At that moment, Tobi's eyes opened.

"Tobi, you're okay," his sister said, relieved. He stared at her for a moment, blinking. She looked up, running a hand through her short hair. "You did this to me, little brother, so you better like it."

He just nodded.

"Tobi, we need to know if you're…" Cam began as he set his medical kit next to Tobi. "…dangerous," he finished.

Tobi shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm… _so_ sorry."

"It's not your fault," Cam said, looking at Tobi's sister, who nodded.

"We still love you," she told her brother, glancing at Cam. "All of us."

"Thank you," Tobi told them. "I love you guys too."

"So, you're… yourself now?" Hunter asked, studying Tobi.

A grin curled up on Tobi's lips. "Nah, I'm not."

The others exchanged worried glances just as two figures suddenly appeared in the middle of the newly grown grass.

"It worked!" Marah declared while she happily hugged Kapri as the two appeared in the green field.

"Tobi!" Kapri yelled, running with Marah over to him.

"I see you two made it back safely," Cam told the girls.

"Yeah, and…" Marah said, pulling out a device and handing it to him.

"Is this…?" Cam whispered, studying the alien gadget.

"Lothor's Personal Alien Manager," Kapri finished for him. "We kinda accidently found the button that like makes kelzaks appear everywhere, but you'll have to figure the rest out yourself, cousin."

Cam looked up from the PAM, surprise clear in his wide eyes.

"How's Dustin?" Marah asked Waldo.

"Uh… he's not in me anymore," Waldo replied reluctantly.

"Oh," Marah mumbled, looking down. "What about Tobi?"

"I don't know," Cam told them.

"He says he's still not himself," Tori explained.

"Chill, dudes," Tobi told them. "I'm better than my usual awesome self. _We're _super awesome."

"We?" his sister asked.

"Dustin's spirit was trying to enter Tobi to stop him when you threw the gem," Cam realized. "And, when the two elements combined, power of sunlight and power of earth…" He gestured around at the grass.

"That's right," Tobi told them, smiling. "And, despite everything I did, I've never been this happy."

The others gave him confused looks, but Waldo nodded. "Because you're sharing every thought with the one person you love more than anything else."

Hunter looked at Waldo, a mixture of emotions in his blue eyes. Waldo just patted his hand.

"Totally," Tobi agreed. "We've never felt so… _alive_. Everything we feel, the other feels too." A wry grin spread across his face. "Yeah, we'll have to try that later," he mused. "We're… one. It's like… perfect. And, dude, it's freaking _awesome_!"

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ So, only a partial cliffhanger climax! It's practically a happy ending! But, yes, there is more to come! Still, I'd like to think that this chapter furthered the story, bringing it ever closer to that fateful day when I'll have to end this story. (cries uncontrollably at the thought) And so now we see why I kept Dustin as a spirit for so long. Yes, the thought of sharing a mind with someone you love is quite romantic to me. You might think it's weird, but… to each their own. And, what do you think of calling TZD "Waldo" or TZTori's short hair cut? I'm taking suggestions for TZTori's middle name (that she could go by to distinguish her from Tori). So, think of that when you decide if my chapter truly was better than the episode "Gem of a Day" or if the action wasn't what it could have been… Anyway, whatever you have to say, I want to hear it! Share your ideas and I just might steal them. I mean, use them!_


	39. An Unbreakable Bond

**Current Poll: **_**What should TZTori aka Tobi's sister's nickname be? **_If you do not see a name you like, please add a comment in the review. I've tried to be... unique. You can pick up to three choices. Oh, and I've just added a new choice: **Jen** (sort for Jennifer as a middle name). It reminds me of Jen from Time Force and TZTori's character sort of reminds me of Jen too. Credit for coming up with this goes to **Ruon jian**!

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**The Legend of Link and Zeldin: **Check out the brand new story I just started! Click on Rogue Ranger. My stories are at the bottom of the page. It might just be something you enjoy!

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**Author's Notes: **This is a violence free chapter. In fact, it's an action free chapter. It deals mostly with emotions and relationship stuff. I'm sure you've come to expect this sort of thing after whenever I have a climactic battle. I guess I'll find out what you think of this…

**~Winner **for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… **megsjedi**! Although, it's not because of a review, but because of her story "**Kiss Me Deadly**," which can be found under my Favorite Stories tab on my profile. After reading this chapter, read her story to see what I borrowed/stole!

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**Review Comments: **I got two "Wow"s and a "Whoa." I'll take that as a good sign!

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for showing that a one word review can work! Of course, it depends all on the one word and it is always nice to hear more detail. Still, it shows that you read the chapter and… found it interesting.

Thanks **Ghostwriter **for not only a "Whoa" but an "Awesome" as well! Clearly I scored on the last chapter. I can't say this chapter lives up to it, but it was kind of fun to write. I'm still debating how close I am to the end of this story…

Thanks **FinalJudgement **for your neverending awesomefest of awesomeness that is your reviews! It's good that you didn't go back and read your review, because then you got the full "Oh my god!" effect. Now if only I could keep stealing your ideas and have you think I'm a brilliant thief…er, person. Let's see, I have only one psychic in my story and she's an alien. So, are descendants of Witches also Witches or are they something else? Since you say you draw, do you have a DeviantART account? If I were doing a new Power Rangers series, I would love to steal…er borrow your idea of finally having a female red Power Ranger. It's about time! For a short part in Power Rangers Time Force, it was like Jen was the lead ranger, but then it became like a co-lead with Wes. Oh! She could have red hair! Red ranger, red hair? Uh, stupid? Okay, moving right along… Thank you so much for calling me "a master at this." I don't always feel like it, but sometimes inspiration strikes. Now for my new review assignment to you: In this chapter, I go much more mellow and sort of dwell on relationship things in order to try to bring the story closer to its end. So, should I just have a sort of farewell to the rangers who go back to the other dimension and then end it, or should I have the story end after the defeat of Lothor and that whole epic battle thing? The second option would be closer to your last lines about it looking like hope is lost before the final victory. Hmm. Also, I've been pondering the idea of doing a sequel to this story that takes place after Lothor's defeat (and during the Dino Thunder time period). What do you think?

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for declaring that last chapter better than the episode! And thanks for approving of the Hunter/Waldo pairing because, yes, it looks like that's what won. I know you think that I don't need your opinion, but I appreciate it more than polls sometimes because you've been like my loyal reviewer who has supported me for such a long time in this story. Too bad I never got to have Tori and Hunter kiss though… About TZTori's name, when I came up with Tori and Tobi, I decided to have Tori's name not be short for Victoria in this story but instead be from the Japanese origin of Tori. Plus, Victoria sounds so formal. I need something a little more snappy and sassy (like Tobi's sister's personality). Though, she has mellowed some over time. Well, there's still time to come up with a name. I think I'll keep her hair short though. It'll not only distinguish her from Tori, but also serve as a reminder of what she did for her brother. I'm glad you loved the last chapter and I hope you like this one too! As for what will happen to Tobi/Dustin, you'll have to read to find out, but I don't think you're the only one who wants Dustin in his own body. Still, it's nice to share a mind with the one you love…

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Vexacus uses Condortron to try to kill Tobi and steal the Sun Amulet, but Dustin/Waldo splits in two to help and Dustin ends up in one body and Waldo in the other. Together with the other rangers, they fight the combined forces of Vexacus, Condortron, Motodrone and a horde of kelzaks. This proves to be too much for them and Vexacus takes Tobi up to Lothor's ship, where hippy Marah and Kapri are trying to impersonate Lothor's nieces. They manage to convince Lothor not to kill Tobi, but instead Tobi is brainwashed to want to kill the Power Rangers. Marah and Kapri use the morpher Dustin gave Marah to warn Cam, but Motodrone grows suspicious of them. Meanwhile, Tobi attacks the rangers, nearly killing them all while Marah and Kapri disable the mind control beam and Vexacus kills Motodrone for wanting to turn him in. Skyla tells Tobi's sister to throw the Gem of Souls at Tobi and he's not only stopped but a wave of energy heals the others, who were all near death. Then, after Marah and Kapri return from Lothor's ship with his PAM, Tobi explains that Dustin's spirit is in him now...**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 39 (An Unbreakable Bond)**

* * *

Tobi's sister helped her brother up from the green field. For a moment, he wobbled with dizziness as he looked around at the others and at the abundance of newly grown plant life surrounding them. Then he paused, closing his eyes.

"Dizzy?" Waldo asked.

Tobi nodded before the grin returned to his face. "Yeah, but we figured out a way to keep our spirits in alignment, so we won't be dizzy anymore."

"And they say you're the smart one," Tobi's sister whispered to Waldo.

After a moment of leaning on his sister, Tobi pulled both Tori's into a hug. "We love you guys." Then, pulling away, he looked at Waldo. "I understand you now," he said, suddenly hugging the brunette.

Waldo looked surprised before returning the hug.

"I didn't realize how different I was treating you after I met this Dustin," he continued. "It was almost like you really became Cyber Dustin, like you were a substitute. I started to feel like all those years of obsessing over you and it going nowhere were wasted. I know you regret that." He pulled away, staring up at Waldo. "I also know how you felt, going from me practically throwing myself at you and you repressing your true feelings, to you finally admitting those feelings and me basically dismissing them. I'm so sorry."

Waldo offered him a weak smile. "Tobs... I... understand."

"You always figured things out," Tobi agreed. "I always liked that about you. As I said in the cave when I thought you were dead, I wish things had been different between us. I just... I want you to be happy like we are. You totally deserve that." He blinked up at Waldo, his blue eyes earnest. "And I do love you."

Waldo's brown eyes widened for a moment. "You do?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I do," Tobi replied. "I didn't want to believe it when you weren't returning my feelings and I didn't want to believe it when I met this Dustin, but loving Dustin doesn't mean I can't love you too." He glanced at Tori. "I guess you were right."

Tori glanced from Hunter to Blake and then back to Tobi.

Tobi looked back at Waldo, continuing. "I guess I was in denial about my feelings, just like you. We were both afraid of being hurt." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "It's sorta silly when you think about it, how we both wanted the same thing but couldn't agree until it was too late."

"So, it's too late?" Waldo asked.

Tobi frowned. "I love you," he assured him. "Dustin helped me see that, but..."

"But you love your Dustin more," Waldo replied.

Tobi nodded before leaning up and kissing Waldo on the lips. When he pulled away, he giggled. "That was a little weird for Dustin."

Waldo just nodded, blinking. "So, he's not jealous then?"

"He can't be," Tobi replied. "He knows how I feel."

"I—I'm glad you have... him," Waldo told him, blinking heavily.

"Thanks," Tobi replied, smiling. "You're a good friend, Waldo."

Waldo didn't reply, but instead tried to nod.

"And we're glad you two are okay," Tobi added, noticing Marah and Kapri. "We were really worried about you."

"Aw," Kapri said, hugging Tobi.

"We were worried about you two too," Marah added, joining the hug.

"Tutu," Tobi giggled.

The girls gave him a confused look.

"Inside joke," he said, pointing to his head. "Get it? _Inside_?"

"Ah," Marah realized, glancing at Hunter, who just shrugged.

"We're glad all of you are okay," Tobi announced, looking around. "Dustin's spirit was trying to stop me when I…" His voice trailed off and he looked down. "But we're all awesome now. Thanks for not giving up on us, Cam." He pulled Cam into a hug before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Cam was bright red when Tobi pulled away and Tobi's sister was laughing.

"And Hunter," Tobi continued, turning to the taller blonde, "we hope this doesn't freak you out."

Hunter gave him a puzzled look, his eyes widening as Tobi held him by his broad shoulders and kissed him hard on the lips.

"Blonde awesomeness," Tobi muttered, his face still tilted up to meet Hunter's. "Blosomeness."

Hunter and Waldo exchanged surprised glances as Tobi pulled away.

"You seem like your personalities aren't clashing as much as when Dustin was in my head," Waldo commented.

Tobi nodded. "Yeah, we sorta think on the same wavelength. Everything makes sense. Everything we've ever felt mixes perfectly. There aren't any doubts or uncertainties left."

"Oh, that's… good," Waldo replied, still blinking.

"We're happy for you," Hunter assured Tobi, patting Waldo's back. "Really happy."

Waldo nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"Thanks, guys," Tobi replied, pulling the two into a hug. He then stepped away, his cheeks flushed. "We… uh… have something we're gonna do. We'll meet you guys down in Ops in like a few minutes." He then giggled, skipping away.

"What was that all about?' Shane asked.

"I have no idea," Tori replied.

"I'll check on him," Tobi's sister offered.

"I think they want a moment alone," Skyla suggested.

"I'll just make sure he's okay," Tobi's sister replied with a shrug before following the path her brother had taken into the woods.

"Cam," Waldo said, turning around, "why don't I help with the Zord Bay?"

"I'd appreciate that," Cam replied.

"That means, 'yes, thank you,'" Hunter translated.

Cam couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"It's too bad Lothor didn't have something to make new clothes appear instead of aliens," Marah commented as the group returned to the hatch that led to Ninja Ops.

"Oh, that would be like _so_ groovy!" Kapri agreed.

Tori noticed Cam grimace. "Remember, we're glad they're back safely," she whispered to him.

Cam nodded. "I know," he groaned. "Your double keeps reminding me how much I care about others. I need that kind of a reminder right about now."

"Cam, do you… like her?" she asked as they walked down the cavernous path that led to their underground headquarters.

He thought for a moment. "Yes, I do," he finally said. "In a way, she reminds me of her brother sometimes. They have some of the same quarks."

"Do you think you could… like her more than as a friend?" she asked.

He gave her a surprised look before admitting, "I don't know. Why?"

"I just…" She sighed. "I still feel bad about… well, that I don't feel the same way about you as you do about me."

He gave her a small smile. "As I said, I'm fine and I understand. Neither of us can change how we feel."

Behind them, Geo and Destiny greeted Marah and Kapri.

Tori patted Cam's arm. "You're a good guy, Cam."

"Thanks," he mumbled, blinking.

* * *

Tobi was sitting in the woods, leaning against a tree as he smiled and sighed. He didn't need to say anything outloud. It was all understood. Dustin and Tobi knew they loved each other and their thoughts and emotions merged until it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

He reached up, running a hand through his hair before trailing a finger over his lips. He moaned and his eyes fluttered as his hands traced over his chest. Eventually, his hands massaged his upper thighs before one crept into his pants. He gasped, tilting his head back.

Every touch was like Tobi was touching Dustin while Dustin was touching Tobi. Their emotions and desires merged with the ultimate intimacy of their bond. Pleasure overwhelmed the two as they simultaneously reached a euphoric peak, the intensity doubled from the connection. "DustZT!" he cried.

He just stayed there for a moment, panting, until he reached down and ran a finger through his released juices. He then brought the finger to his lips and licked it. He giggled, sucking his finger.

Just then, his sister cleared her throat. He hastily pulled up his pants. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, little brother," she told him as she approached. "Though, it's different than your usual jack off sessions because you're with someone else… sort of."

Tobi stood, nodding. "It was awesome, like having sex with each other," he explained. "No, like _making love_."

"I'm glad your first time could be with someone you actually love," she said, frowning.

Tobi threw an arm over her shoulder. "The other Tori says sex shouldn't be rushed into until you're certain you love the person," he told her.

"A little late, Tobi," she replied.

"No, it's not too late," he reassured her. "You weren't really sure sex was what you wanted the first time you did it. And, then, when he dumped you, it stopped meaning anything. It became easier, or so you said, but you were looking for something… something that I guess I couldn't give you. Maybe you were looking for love and not just from your brother."

She shook her head and sighed. "What guy would love me with all my baggage?"

"This dimension's Blake had sex with you and I think it meant something to him," he suggested.

"Only because he thought I was the Tori he loves," she countered.

"What about this dimension's Cam?" he suggested. "We know he cares about people a lot easier than he wants people to think and, second only to Dustin, he's my favorite."

"I can see that," she agreed, nodding. "The favorite part, that is. I don't know about _love_."

"Well, sometimes love just hits you when you're totally not expecting it or looking for it," he explained.

"I'm surprised you didn't suggest our dimension's Blake," she commented.

"I know Blake never really felt anything for you and seeing you watch him obsess over Leanne reminds me of seeing Cam watch the other Tori obsess over this dimension's Blake," he explained. "It's kinda heartbreaking, but I don't think you two are meant to be together."

"What changed your mind about me and him?" she asked.

"Our dimension's Blake is a cocky airhead," he replied. "That's not who you need."

"And you do?" she accused.

"Dustin's more than some cocky airhead," he defended. "A whole lot more. We're actually really similar and our similarities bond us like we're brothers or something, but you always had a twin brother and I wasn't enough. Maybe you need something different, like someone who has something you don't have, maybe someone who doesn't have something you have. And, since this dimension's Blake is taken…"

"When did you get to be so wise?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Experience," he said simply. "Lots and lots of experience."

"Um, okay," she mumbled, walking with her brother back to Ninja Ops.

* * *

"And then invert the parallel field," Waldo directed, leaning over Cam as he typed on his computer.

"The field needs a broader projection baseline threshold," Cam replied, adjusing his calculations.

"Dude, right," Waldo realized. "You're definitely the smarter of us."

"I don't know if that's true," Cam disagreed as Tobi and his sister entered Ninja Ops.

"So, guys, how goes it?" Tobi asked, throwing arms over Cam's and Waldo's shoulders.

"We figured out a way to use Lothor's PAM to prevent him from using a new PAM," Waldo explained.

"If he ever happens to find one," Cam added, "which his nieces suggest is unlikely, he would still not be able to summon or enlarge monsters or transport kelzaks remotely."

"Dudes, that's awesome!" Tobi declared. "So, we've like finally beat Lothor?"

"Not quite," Cam replied.

"A victory is still a victory, regardless of its magnitude, son," Sensei spoke up.

"Sensei's right, Cam," Tobi continued. "We should celebrate. Oh! We know! Party time! We could have it…" He glanced at Cam. "Okay, Ops is out." He looked over at Blake and Hunter, his mouth forming a wide, toothy grin. "Hey, guys, you know you totally loved the last party we had at your…" Suddenly his face fell.

"Tobi?" Hunter asked.

"Just remembering that morning from… both our points of view," he replied, forcing a smile, "but we're okay now. We can't feel bad for long about anything, not when we're together."

Hunter nodded, glancing at his brother.

"Am I the only one who remembers what happened last time we had everybody over at our place?" Blake asked.

"It'll be different this time," Hunter assured him. "What could possible go—"

"Don't say it," Blake warned.

"Oh, hey, Cam," Tobi remembered. "Did Waldo help you clean out the Zord Bay yet?"

"Actually, no," Cam replied. "We were a little… focused on the PAM first."

Tobi nodded. "That's cool. We figured out a way to move dirt while in my body. Here, check this out," he said, leading Cam out of the room.

Waldo followed and he exchanged a confused look with Cam.

Once in the Zord Bay, Tobi held his hand over the mountain of dirt and a small mound of dirt flew up, instantly growing grass on it.

"How'd you do that, Tobs?" Waldo asked.

"We can sense not only the life in things through me but also the elements," Tobi explained. "You know, because dirt is basically elements. And each grain of dirt is like…" He paused, his face faltering as the grass-covered dirt fell back to where it had risen from.

"Tobi?" Cam asked.

Tobi continued to stare blankly ahead.

"Tobs?" Waldo asked, concerned.

Tobi shook his head before saying, "We think we know how to bring back Dustin's body."

The two looked at him with wide eyes.

"We'd have to… separate," Tobi added, "but we think… everyone else would like it better. _If_ we can do it."

"It's your choice," Cam said. "We'll be okay with whatever you two choose."

"Tobs, _how_ do you plan to do it?" Waldo asked.

"We're glad you asked," Tobi said, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "We need you to help us with this. Can you still split in two like you did when Dustin was in you?"

"I remember what he did," Waldo offered.

"Good," Tobi replied, swallowing. "We should… go. We'll need to gather every last particle of… ash."

Cam and Waldo exchanged looks before Waldo nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, and Cam, here," Tobi said, turning around and facing the dirt filled bay. Concentrating, the dirt and rocks began to lift and rise all around, forming back into the walls and ceiling around the bay. When the process was complete, the Zord Bay was clear and the walls and ceiling were covered in a light layer of moss and ivy.

"Now we're ready," Tobi said, turning to leave the bay.

"Tobi?" Cam interrupted. "Should I tell the others?"

Tobi looked back at him. "We don't know if it'll work. Let's not get their… hopes up."

Cam nodded. "And, Tobi _and_ Dustin," he addressed. "I may not be able to relate to the mind sharing." He glanced at Waldo. "But I do understand why it would be hard to separate after being so _close_."

"Yeah," Tobi said with a gulp.

"You don't have to do this just because we want Dustin with us," Cam added.

"No, Cam," Tobi disagreed. "We're okay with this. We just… We'll miss sharing our thoughts."

"Right," Cam replied.

"Oh, and, Cam, we'll need the Gem of Souls," Tobi added.

"Alright," Cam agreed, handing him the sack. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Tobi replied as he left with Waldo.

* * *

Tobi stood over the remains of the cave that he had collapsed on himself in his suicide attempt. "We were right," he breathed. "It's here."

"What is?" Waldo asked, standing beside him and looking around.

"Dustin did split in two," Tobi explained, "but, because he wasn't morphed, his spirit stayed in one half and, when Zurgane killed that half, it forever separated the other. I can see it though. It's invisible and dephased through the rock, kinda like a spirit, but it has no life of its own. We got the idea because, when Dustin opened his visor when you two split, I could see through him and couldn't touch him. The other half is never solid."

"What can I do?" Waldo asked.

"I need you to help me separate the dirt from Dustin's ash," Tobi explained.

"But you said you couldn't find any life in the ash," Waldo pointed out.

"I couldn't," Tobi agreed, "but, with Dustin's power of earth, I think I can at least form the other half. I'll need you to split in two so I can combine your dephased half with Dustin's dephased half to help me form a solid body with the ash."

"And you came up with this on your own?" Waldo asked, surprised.

Tobi shrugged. "We had some help with thoughts you left behind."

"Oh," Waldo mumbled.

"There's not many hours of sunlight left," Tobi said. "Let's get to work."

Waldo nodded and the two then used their combined powers to ever so carefully extract each and every tiny fragment of ash from beneath the rubble until, finally, every last black flake was lying in a pile in front of them.

Tobi then knelt down, placing the fragments of the Gem of Souls in a circle around the ash. "Okay, now we need you to split in two without morphing," he instructed. "Just do what Dustin did in the cave. You still remember?"

"I remember it from both our perspectives," he agreed, blinking.

Tobi hugged him. "You can do this," he assured him.

"Tobs, I just want you to know, after him being in my head too, I know he's the Dustin you're meant to be with," Waldo told him.

"We know," Tobi whispered. "You'll always be special to us."

"Thanks, Tobs," Waldo replied.

"No problem," Tobi said, gesturing to the ash. "Shall we?"

"I'm ready," Waldo agreed, concentrating. After a moment, his body blurred and he opened his eyes, looking around. "I thought it was working."

"It did work," Tobi corrected.

Waldo looked at his hands. "Then why am I still only one?"

"You're not," Tobi said, gesturing toward a mostly transparent version of Waldo. It was hard to make out with all the light passing through it. "I should warn you, though, You probably won't ever be able to split in two ever again."

"I can live with that, Tobs," Waldo replied with a smile.

"Good," Tobi said, focusing.

As the ash began to rise up from the ground, it flickered and glowed. As it did so, a faint glow formed around the transparent image of Waldo. Then, rising out of the remains of the cave floated a glowing transparent half of Dustin's body.

"I can see it now," Waldo commented, seeing Dustin's other half merge with his own transparent half.

The ash spun and sparkled as it began to take on the shape of the two Dustins. The fragments of the Gem of Souls rose up from the ground, flying in an orbit around the forming body.

By this point, Waldo could see sweat pouring down Tobi's forehead as he breathed heavily.

"It's not enough," Tobi chocked out, gasping. "It's taking all our energy to hold it all together."

"Can I help?" Waldo offered.

"No," Tobi disagreed, eyes still closed, his arms and legs shaking and threatening to give out. "Our powers have to be used in perfect harmony with each other. Even the slightest deviation would mean this won't… Wait, that's it."

"What is?" Waldo asked, just as Tobi's body glowed, blurring. Then, Tobi split in two, a transparent half of him merging into the combined halves of Dustin and Waldo.

"Goodbye, TZT," the transparent version of Tobi whispered as it merged into the forming body.

The forming body began to glow brighter and brighter until—flash—a wave of energy sent the other half of Waldo snapping back into his body and the other half of Tobi snapping back into his body. The two then fell backward as the ground rumbled and every grain of sand shimmered for a moment before a variety of plant life, including seaweed, sprouted across the beach.

Waldo was the first to recover and he scrambled over to Tobi, who was lying unconscious on the green sand. "Tobs, we can try again if… Tobs? Are you okay?" When he didn't respond, Waldo shook him.

"TZT?" a voice asked from behind Waldo. He slowly turned around to see…

"Dustin?" Waldo gasped.

"Yeah, bro, it's me," Dustin replied. He was standing and was no longer transparent or half a person or just a spirit. He had a flesh and blood body. He touched his hands together as he felt his heart beating and the fresh ocean air fill his lungs.

"Dustin?" Tobi whispered weakly.

Dustin bent over, picking Tobi up in his arms. "Yeah, dude, I'm here," he said, kissing Tobi on the forehead. Tobi nuzzled his body into Dustin's arms, his body feeling so solid, so real and so warm.

"Welcome back," Waldo told Dustin. "Bro?"

"Yep, we're like brothers," Dustin replied. "Now, let's go home, bro."

Waldo nodded and the two left, Dustin still carrying Tobi.

* * *

"So, where did Tobi and Waldo run off to?" Tobi's sister asked Cam.

"Tobi wanted to wait to tell everyone," Cam replied, studying his computer screen.

"Everyone, huh?" she repeated. "Sounds big."

"Perhaps," Cam agreed. "Perhaps not."

"Ever the mysterious one," she chuckled.

"What happened to you being able to see right through me?" he asked.

"Maybe I don't know as much as I thought I did," she suggested.

"I know the feeling," Cam murmured.

"We all do, Cam," she said, patting his shoulders. "We all do."

Suddenly something popped up on Cam's screen before he quickly closed it.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing," Cam replied defensively. "I was just trying to locate the Cyber Cam backup files and…"

"What does that have to do with you having a naked picture of me—or probably the other Tori?" she asked.

"It's not a picture," he defended.

"Then what is…" She paused, realizing, "It's a Cyber Tori."

Cam reluctantly nodded.

"And she's naked because you—" she began.

"Yes, now can we forget it?" Cam snapped.

She chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Cam. I won't tell her. I'm sure she wouldn't be as… understanding as me."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Guys have… _needs_," she explained.

A thump drew their attention to Blake, who had been leaning over eavesdropping when he fell over.

"Were you listening to us?" Tobi's sister accused.

"Uh, no?" he replied.

She rolled her eyes. "Just practicing your ninja stealth?"

"So, Cam, you understand about man needs too?" Blake asked.

Cam buried his face in his hands.

"He understands sometimes you just need to get off," she said, running a finger seductively over Blake's chest.

Blake's breathing quickened and became erratic.

Tori, who had been casually flirting with Hunter, noticed this and walked over to Blake, grabbing him by the arm. "Blake, your brother and I need you over here," she said, glaring at Tobi's sister as she dragged him away.

Tobi's sister just offered her an apologetic grin.

"You really shouldn't do that to her," Cam warned.

"It's just so much fun," Tobi's sister defended, turning back to Cam. She noticed the serious look in his eyes. "Right, because you still love her," she realized. "I'm sorry."

He just sighed.

"Cam, do you think love makes sex… different?" she suddenly asked.

He studied her face before answering. "I honestly don't know," he admitted. "I've only ever had sex with a Cyber being and _love_ was not really a component."

"Yeah, me too," she agreed.

He stared at her.

"I mean, the whole not making love thing, not the Cyber part." She paused, thinking. "Cam, besides sex with Cyber people, what do you do for fun?"

He blinked at her for a moment. "I do have fun," he defended. "I'm not a complete bore."

"So you rewire a circuitboard for fun?" she joked.

He smiled dreamily. "Well, yes, that can be… entertaining."

She rolled her eyes. "What about an activity that involves other people?" she suggested.

"Dustin was teaching me about motocross before…" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah, before," she agreed. "I wish the others could care about me the way they do Dustin. Sometimes I just want to be…"

"Loved?" he suggested.

"I was going to say appreciated, but I guess you're right," she agreed.

He studied her for a moment. "I think we could learn to love you," he finally admitted.

"We?" she asked.

"Uh, all of us, more or less," he explained.

"Yeah, well one'll do," she replied.

Cam just nodded. "I know."

At that moment, three figures descended down into Ninja Ops and their entry was immediately followed by a series of gasps all around.

"Dustin?" Hunter breathed as Waldo stepped aside to let Dustin set Tobi down beside him.

"Yep, dude, I'm back," Dustin replied, a wide smile on his face as he nuzzled Tobi's cheek and Tobi giggled. "And I got my own body this time, all flesh and blood awesomeness."

"Oh, Dustin," Tori cried, promptly hugging him.

"Welcome back, bro," Shane said.

"We're all glad you're back," Cam said, approaching. He looked at Tobi. "Thank you."

"We might not be sharing a body anymore," Tobi told him as he ran a hand over Dustin's chest, "but this way has…"

"Advantages," Dustin finished, pulling Tobi into a kiss.

"If I wasn't so glad to see Dustin again, I'd be grossed out by this," Blake commented.

"You know you like it," Hunter whispered to him. "Guys can have soft lips, remember?"

"It is pretty hot, isn't it Crim?" the other dimension's Cam asked his dimension's Hunter.

The other dimension's Hunter just nodded.

"So, dudes, major party at Hunter and Blake's!" Dustin announced.

"Be there or be square," Tobi agreed. "if it's okay with you guys."

"Uh," Blake mumbled.

"Sure," Hunter agreed. "A celebration. We took Lothor down a peg and you're back with us." He stared at Dustin, blinking.

"Thanks, dude," Dustin whispered, hugging Hunter.

"I do not wish to disrupt your recreational activities," Sensei stated, "but now may be the time to begin considering returning to your dimension."

The others looked at each other, uneasy expressions on their faces.

Sensei looked at each of them and then at Skyla before continuing. "Skyla and I have come to an agreement," he continued. "We have decided that your fates are in your own hands."

The others looked at him, confused.

"He means we can each choose to go or to stay," Skyla finished.

"Skyla is correct," Sensei agreed. "Now, I understand that some of you have developed… attachments to each other and so perhaps it would be best to wait to make a decision until after tonight's… _celebration_."

"Thanks, Sensei," Tobi's sister was the first to say.

"Awesome," Dustin and Tobi said at the same time.

"Whether we stay or go, we'll be together as a family," Cam's mom said, patting her son's back.

"Don't go getting all sentimental on me now, Miko," Grumpy Sensei warned.

"Would you prefer if I pull on your whiskers, Kanoi?" she asked.

He paused, thinking. "Maybe."

"We'll meet you guys over there," Dustin told the others.

"We need to shower and change first," Tobi added. "And Dustin'll bring Mario Kart."

Dustin looked at him, surprised. "Dude, how'd you know that?"

Tobi blinked at him for a moment. "I just thought you…" His eyes widened.

"Yeah, dude, I feel it too," Dustin said.

"Tobi?" his sister asked, confused.

Tobi and Dustin both looked at her at the same time. "We still have a connection," Tobi told her. "It must have stayed because of how we made Dustin's body."

The other's exchanged surprised looks.

"Come on, shower time!" Dustin said, grabbing Tobi by the hand and leading him away, the two of them laughing the whole time.

"You don't suppose they're planning to take a shower _together_, do you?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, I do," Tobi's sister told him with a pat on his arm.

"We should do something special for Dustin," hippy Marah spoke up.

"Maybe we could like try making pizza ice cream," Kapri suggested.

"Perfect!" Marah agreed. "I'll get started on the milk."

"I'll help!" Kapri chimed in.

"Cam, are you up to giving baking another try?" Tori asked, turning to Cam.

"Uh, I suppose," he replied uneasily.

"I'm sure what happened last time won't happen this time," she said.

He nodded. "Definitely."

"If I can make a suggestion," Tobi's sister added.

"What's that?" Cam asked.

She grinned. "Chocolate covered Dustins."

Cam gave her a confused look. "What are—"

"No, Cam, it sounds perfect," Hunter told him. "Tobi was always talking about Dustin being made of chocolate." He noticed Waldo standing away from the others. "Cam, I'll be right back." He then walked over to Waldo and smiled.

"I bet you're glad Dustin's back in his own body," Waldo told him.

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, I am," he agreed.

Waldo frowned.

Hunter reached out, touching Waldo's arm. "But I'm glad you're still around too. I've kinda… gotten used to you."

"Thanks, dude," Waldo replied, staring at him. "I'm glad I'm around too. And I'm glad you still like having me around after everything."

"We've all made mistakes," Hunter assured him. "Trust me, I've definitely had my share of regrets. But, as Tobi would say…"

"We can't change the past, but we can make a better future?" Waldo suggested.

"I think that was a fortune cookie you're thinking of," Hunter replied, chuckling. "I'm glad things are… as they should be."

Waldo studied him for a while before admitting, "Surprisingly, me too."

"And, hey, Tobi loves you after all," Hunter added.

"Yeah," Waldo mumbled. "He does."

"It doesn't make you feel any better, does it?" Hunter asked.

Waldo shrugged. "Sometimes it does, but sometimes it just makes it hurt more."

"I know what you mean," Hunter replied. "When Tori said she loved both me and my brother, I thought... this is pretty awesome, but... she still loves Blake more. And she doesn't want to share." He made a small grin.

Waldo shook his head, also grinning.

"It's not as crazy as it sounds," Hunter defended. "Blake and I get along pretty well and Tori—"

"It's not that," Waldo explained. "See, ever since I had Dustin in my head, I've been wanting to hit the track. It always helped clear Dustin's head."

"I always found riding got me more worked up than relaxed, but I can see that about Dustin," Hunter replied. "So, that means you can ride?"

"I think I can now," Waldo suggested. "Well, at least I think I know the fundamentals."

"I can teach you whatever you're missing," Hunter offered. "How about tomorrow?"

"Sure," Waldo agreed. "It's a date." He immediately covered his mouth. "Dude, I mean…"

Hunter just smirked.

* * *

Tobi and Dustin stood facing each other in Ninja Ops' shower. They were both naked, wet and looking each other up and down.

"Better than Cyber me?" Dustin asked.

"Totally," Tobi agreed.

"And your body looks better from this perspective too," Dustin replied. "But then you always looked good."

"I remember," Tobi said, "but I liked you being in me," he added, holding Dustin's naked body to his own. "We may still have a connection, but it was _so_ close."

"I know," Dustin agreed. "But I like this a lot too." He traced his hands over Tobi's bare body, making each of them shiver with connected pleasure. "And I like being the tall one again too."

Tobi smiled. "So, should we clean each other?" he asked, staring up at Dustin.

"Maybe later," Dustin replied. "I think we should…"

"Get messier first," Tobi finished. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I know," Dustin told him, gently trailing his lips over the contours of Tobi's face. He grinned. "And, dude, power of sunlight and power of earth means…"

"We can use healing to have faster recovery times to…" Tobi continued for Dustin.

"Totally," Dustin finished.

Tobi laughed. "Dustin, I love you."

"I know, TZT," Dustin replied softly. "I love you too."

"I know," Tobi reminded him.

"And, dude, you know when we were in the woods when I was in you?" Dustin asked.

"Of course," Tobi agreed.

"What we called out sounded like…" Dustin continued.

"Like Dusty," Tobi realized. "Sure, _Dusty_."

Dustin giggled. "My TZT."

"My Dusty," Tobi agreed as the two kissed and became slightly more messy before finally cleaning each others bodies.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Aw, I couldn't resist that last scene! So, what did you think? A sort of mellow chapter with not a whole lot of tension or anything like that. Relationships are coming together as the poll results dictated. Remember to vote in the new poll that asks what Tobi's sister's nickname should be to distinguish her from Tori. Oh, and, in case you missed it earlier, I want to give a big shoutout to __**megsjedi**__ and her story __**Kiss Me Deadly**__ for giving me some inspiration for this chapter. You can find her story under my favorite stories tab and let's see if you can spot exactly what part of her story I used. So, until next time, please review with all the things you want to see next! I have some ideas floating around, but I'm always open to new ones!_


	40. Friendly Festivities

**Please Vote ASAP! **_**What should TZTori aka Tobi's sister's nickname be? **_Click on my profile to vote. If you do not see a name you like, please add a comment in the review. I've tried to be... unique. You can pick up to three choices. I **really** want a decision by the next chapter.

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**Author's Notes: **I have decided not to go with the episode "Down and Dirty" (the episode after "Gem of a Day") because, well, I didn't like most of the episode. Instead, I decided to do something completely different. This was originally planned as one long chapter, but it kept going and going and didn't even get to the fight yet, so I decided to end it on a cliffhanger and I'll continue it in the next chapter. I try to give each character a chance to develop beyond the series let them. Also, this chapter lets you get to know a little bit more about what it's like to be Waldo. There's humor and drama. About pairings, I'm going with the pairing combinations that won the last two polls (with hints of pairings I like that didn't win the polls). I also decided on my own pairings for the other dimension's rangers.

**Change Made to Chapter 39: **I went back and added a conversation between Tobi and Waldo to the beginning of the last chapter. So, if you read it before I added it, it basically can be summed up by saying that Tobi realized that he does love Waldo and there's some bits of him understanding Waldo's perspective. Of course, he loves Dustin more.

**~Winner **for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… **Ruon jian**! Yay! No, I do not have prizes. :(

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**Review Comments: **

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for… a review! Now I know you're just messing with me. The same word only works once. Time to get creative!

Thanks **Ruon jian **for the both praise and idea filled review! I feel flattered by how highly you think of the Parallel Realities Ninja Storm universe. It made me decide that I should expand on the universe further. I hope you like some of the things I have included in this chapter and will have in the next chapter. Also, the review was extremely helpful! I didn't even think of a weapon for Tobi! I will definitely have to steal some of your ideas. And a Megazord mode never occurred to me either. I guess that's why I need reviews so much. Your comment about Tobi's feelings toward Waldo made me realize that I'd forgotten a lot of the story (it's been so long since I wrote it all) and I decided to go back and add a conversation between Tobi and Waldo to the last chapter. I mention this above in my Author's Notes. Also, I liked the name Jen (Jennifer) for TZTori's middle name (it reminds me of Jen from Time Force and seems to fit her) and added it as a choice to the current poll. The only downside is if I do ever have a teamup with the Time Force rangers, then it could be confusing. Still, different people can call her by different nicknames. And, that bit about how Tobi's sister and Cam relate is definitely something I just had to steal. As for the rest of the pairings, I mention them above, but basically I'm going with your ideas. I like multiple pairings, so we'll see how that goes… This includes how the TZBradleys relate to the Bradley brotherly love. Yep, pretty much stole your ideas and I still have some left over for the next chapter! So, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for being such a loyal fan of Parallel Realities Ninja Storm! I always look forward to your reviews after I finally finish a chapter. Sometimes it's easy to write and sometimes it's not, so it helps to have some feedback. I'm glad that you like the chemistry between Tobi and Dustin and I continue that with a little something… more in this chapter. I also work with your second favorite couple. I realized I've done a lot with Hunter but really haven't done much with Waldo, so I thought I'd try to explore what it's like to be "the other Dustin." I wanted to make sure that Hunter cares about Waldo for who he is and not just because he looks like Dustin. And, yes, they are hot. About TZTori's middle name, I really hope I get a clear winner really soon because I don't like having to constantly write "Tobi's sister" just to tell the two apart. I'm not sure if it's the same for people reading it, to constantly have "Tobi's sister" all the time. Tell you what, if it's still tied between Lia and something else, I'll choose Lia so that you don't feel like you have bad luck with polls. We'll have to see what happens though…

Thanks **FinalJudgement **for making me feel so special! The good kind of special of course! ;) So "whelmed" is another word for overwhelmed? I guess that makes sense. I didn't really watch much of Teen Titans, but I do remember Raven, mostly for her personality though. I'm wondering how the Psychic part comes into play, since different people do psychics differently. You know, predict the future, sense things, mild telepathy, etc. I wonder if hair can look like fire… If you start with red, fade to orange and then gradually to yellow. I think I'm overthinking it though. Jen was sort of a tomboy and it would be nice to have a girl leader. After all, as the expression goes, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." It doesn't say "man" so maybe that means women can be more vicious. All you have to do is wrong them and then… bam! You're doomed! There can also be two other girls and three guys, making it three of each instead of always having more guys than girls. But then there'd probably have to be all hetero relationships… No! So, I've considered what you said about defeating Lothor being the priority but making the other dimension's rangers indecisive. You also use the phrase "forging bonds" and I decided to take that to another level by having the various rangers bond with the group of rangers they will end up staying with (since I already know who will go and who will stay). But, yes, they're still indecisive at this point. I guess I will keep them around a little while longer still. And, whenever I do finally finish this story, I will do a sequel. But maybe I should take a short break after this story?

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dustin's spirit ends up inside Tobi's body after Tobi is defeated and is no longer evil. Tobi then understands Waldo and admits he does love him. The bond between Dustin and Tobi allows them to share both thoughts and feelings and they use Tobi's body to masturbate in the woods. Meanwhile, Cam and Waldo figure out a way to use Lothor's PAM to stop any aliens from being sent to Earth with another PAM or other method. Cam and Tobi's sister talk more and gradually become closer. Tobi restores the Zord Bay and figures out a way to bring Dustin's body back. With Waldo's help, they combine Dustin's ash with the halves of Dustin, Waldo and Tobi and Dustin ends up having a body. Dustin carries Tobi back to Ninja Ops and everyone is happy to have Dustin back and they plan a party. Sense says everyone has a choice to stay or go back to their dimension, that their fate is in their hands. Tobi and Dustin realize they still share a connection and can feel each other's emotions and thoughts. Meanwhile, Hunter admits he likes having Waldo around and offers to take him to the track. Tobi and Dustin share an intimate shower together...**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 40 (Friendly Festivities)**

* * *

"And I was finally so close," Lothor groaned, turning off his viewscreen. "They were within inches of death, all of them!" he shouted. "Why can't any of you do anything right?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Choobo insisted.

"Then whose was it?" Vexacus asked in a snide tone.

"It was the fault of those gem pieces," Choobo suggested, looking from Vexacus to Lothor.

"Yes, I noticed that," Lothor commented, scratching the nob sticking out of his mask's chin. "It looks like they still have the Gem of Souls and it didn't lose its power after all. I wonder…" He paused before turning and leaving the bridge. "Why are there a bunch of kelzaks out here?" He stepped back into the room and immediately realized he was missing his PAM. "Choobo, go find my nieces. It looks like those girls are up to something _again_." He grumbled, running into Shimazu on the way out.

"Did I miss something?" Shimazu asked.

"Your life if you don't get out of my way," Lothor barked. "And no one is to disturb me while I'm on the upper deck. Understood?"

The three nodded as Lothor left.

"Why do you think he wants to be left alone?" Choobo asked once Lothor was gone.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Vexacus said before adding, "And, Shimazu, I hear your friend Motodrone had a little accident." He laughed as he left the bridge.

* * *

Dustin and Tobi entered the main room of Ninja Ops holding each other. They were both wearing matching green towels and nothing else but big smiles. Waldo was sitting in front of Cam's computer with Circuit hovering over him, Shane was teaching Skyla some moves and the other dimension's rangers were talking among themselves.

Dustin ran his hands through Tobi's still slightly damp hair and sniffed. "Yep, still smells like kiwi," he whispered with a giggle.

Tobi sniffed Dustin, raising Dustin's arm and smelling his armpit, the dark hair underneath still wet. "Mmm, smells Dustiny."

"What?" Dustin asked, sniffing his underarm. "Oh, clean Dustin," he realized.

Tobi stuck out his tongue, running it along the edge of Dustin's freshly washed armpit. The earth ninja started giggling and, because of their connection, Tobi became ticklish too and he began giggling as well.

When the two turned their attention to the others in the room, everyone was staring at them. Both Dustin and Tobi's cheeks promptly flushed. "It's no stranger than when Blake was licking Hunter's nipples," Tobi defended.

The other dimension's Shane and Cam turned to their dimension's Hunter and Blake, who were both wide-eyed.

"_This_ dimension's Hunter and Blake," Dustin clarified.

This did nothing to stop the staring.

"Just because _their_ dimension's us…" the other dimension's Blake began to defend.

"I wonder what it felt like," the other dimension's Hunter mused.

"I had my nips licks before, Crim," the other dimension's Cam offered. "And it was _awesome_!"

"Did you ever _do_ it to anyone?" the other dimension's Hunter asked suggestively.

"Hold up," his brother warned. "Bro, there's no way you're leaving me out of anything. We both know _I'd_ be better than Cam any day 'cause, you know, it's _me_."

The blonde pondered this.

"Speaking of Hunter and Blake, where are they and everyone else?" Tobi asked, approaching Waldo.

Waldo looked between the two shirtless guys, staring not just at Tobi's body but also at the way Dustin's body moved with the blonde. He felt something burn in him and he frowned. "You two missed a lot while you were in there."

They grinned and glanced at each other. "We were… busy," Tobi said.

Dustin snickered. "Bro, how come we didn't run out of hot water?"

"The water passes through geothermal pockets," Waldo explained. "In theory, it won't cool for a few million years."

"Awesome," Tobi commented. "And what about the others?"

Waldo stared at Tobi, his mind telling him to be jealous and cold with him, especially after what felt like an eternity of picturing what they were doing together for so long, but one look at Tobi's happy face changed all that. "Cam and the Toris are making snacks for the party," he finally explained, his expression once again softening. "Hunter and Blake are 'making room' at their apartment and I think Marah and Karpi are _trying_ to make food too over there."

Dustin nodded. "We were like hoping you could get some clothes from my room since…"

"You two look alike," Tobi finished. "Dustin's family won't notice the difference."

Waldo glanced between the two, blinking. "Sure," he agreed. "Let me just turn on the field Cam and I have been working on. It uses a wider dispersal pattern based on the frequency used for Lothor's PAM. It's like a massive dampening field and it'll prevent anything, alien, kelzak or whatever from transporting from space to Earth."

"You're a genius!" Tobi told him with a smile.

"Yeah, bro, you and Cam are awesome!" Dustin agreed.

Waldo's expression faltered. "Well, I'll go get some clothes," he mumbled, standing. "I'll, uh, be back. Circuit, since there's still no Cyber Cam, you're in charge while I'm gone. Let Cam know if anything happens."

"Of course, Waldo," Circuit agreed, floating closer to the computer.

Waldo then walked past his dimension's rangers as he headed out of Ninja Ops.

"Hey, D-Man, want me to come?" his dimension's Cam offered.

Waldo paused, shaking his head. "No, I'm cool, Cam." Then he left, a strained look on his face. But his dimension's Cam didn't seem to notice and was already moving on to wondering if they were invited to the party.

Meanwhile, Dustin and Tobi sat down beside each other and watched as Shane continued to teach Skyla what were becoming increasingly difficult moves.

"Are you sure you're not going easy on me?" she asked as she easily dodged his foot and returned a leg swipe.

Shane grinned. "Okay, maybe a little," he admitted.

"I think I'm ready for you to try going all out," she told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically.

"I think so," she began before knocking him to the ground. As she stood over him, she said more forcefully, "Yes."

He smiled up at her as she helped him up. "Okay," he shrugged, suddenly unleashing a volley of kicks, punches and swipes, all of which she easily anticipated and dodged. She also seemed to know where he would land and she simply stuck a foot out and he landed on it, tripping.

Dustin and Tobi clapped and, as she looked over, surprised, Shane pulled her down with him.

The two laughed on the floor, panting. "You're a natural," Shane told Skyla.

"I have a good teacher," she assured him.

"Gag me already," space ninja Kapri complained, now back in her own clothes again.

"Tell me about it," the other dimension's Shane agreed.

"Maybe they want some mac with that cheese," the other dimension's Hunter offered, laughing.

His dimension's Shane and space ninja Kapri just stared at him, but his dimension's Cam was laughing.

When the laughter died down, the other dimension's Blake asked, "So, are _we_ invited too?"

"I guess," Tobi replied, looking at Dustin, who shrugged.

"It's up to you, dude," Dustin whispered. "I know how you feel about them and it's… complicated."

Tobi nodded as Sensei spoke up from the far side of the room, near his library of scrolls.

"They should be invited as well, all of them," Sensei said. "It may help them to make a decision as to whether to go or whether to stay."

Grumpy Sensei hopped over to his fuzzy counterpart, twitching his nose curiously. "What I want to know is why you suddenly changed your mind on destiny and choosing your own fate."

"I understand your curiosity," Sensei replied. He turned to face the collection of scrolls behind him and lowered his voice. "I had not looked at the Scroll of Destiny since I was in human form and had hands large enough to grip it, but Skyla sensed that I should see it again. So, she unrolled it and… it had changed."

Grumpy Sensei's beady eyes widened. "The scroll that shows Shane, Dustin and Tori, that they are destined to be Power Rangers?" he asked.

"Yes," Sensei replied. "They are no longer the only ones on there."

"I wonder about the Scroll of Destiny back in my dimension," grumpy Sensei pondered. "So, that gay b—Tobi," he corrected, "was right after all… again."

Sensei nodded. "Yes."

"Well, are you going to tell him?" grumpy Sensei asked.

"I only possess the end of the scroll," Sensei explained. "Lothor possesses the rest and I am wary of exactly what has changed on the rest of the scroll."

Grumpy Sensei again twitched his nose. "What makes you think something else changed?" he asked.

Sensei sighed. "It is not only a matter of who has now appeared on the scroll," he explained slowly. "It is also a matter of who is _not _on the scroll."

"Are you going to explain?" grumpy Sensei asked impatiently.

"Perhaps I should show you," Sensei suggested. "Call Miko… your wife."

* * *

"Um, hello?" Choobo's voice echoed through the bridge of Lothor's ship.

At first, the only response was the unintelligible squealing and grunting of a kelzak until Shimazu walked over to a nearby control panel and pressed a button while shooing the kelzak away. "Did you find Lothor's nieces?" he asked.

"Not yet," Choobo replied. "But I can't get back to the ship."

Shimazu giggled. "I could teach you how if—"

"No, there's some kinda field keeping me down here." Choobo corrected.

Shimazu looked up at the pacing Choobo on Lothor's viewscreen before pressing a button on the panel in front of him. When nothing happened, he muttered, "Not good." He then left the bridge.

"Hello?" Choobo's voice called from behind him. "Hey, don't forget about me!"

Vexacus was standing outside the sealed entrance to the upper deck when Shimazu approached him. "What are you doing here?" Vexacus asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Shimazu replied, "but I'm just here to tell Lothor that Choobo can't transport back to the ship."

"A tragedy, I'm sure," Vexacus mumbled.

Suddenly the door in front of the two opened and Lothor stepped out. "If you two are going to try to spy on me, you can at least be quiet about it!" he shouted.

"We were not spying," Vexacus defended.

"There's some form of transport blocking field around the Earth," Shimazu explained.

Lothor groaned. "It sounds like my too clever for his own good nephew is up to something."

"You must be so proud," Vexacus commented.

"It looks like it's up to Choobo to find my nieces and my PAM," Lothor commented. "Maybe it can transport through the field."

"If I may suggest, sir," Vexacus offered, "I have recently rebuilt my ship and I can easily make a little trip down to Earth."

"Condortron and your ship," Lothor mused. "Someone's… resourceful."

"Thank you, sir," Vexacus gloated. "So, shall I use my ship?"

Lothor stared at him for a moment. "Well, I happen to have something else I need done down on Earth and I don't trust you."

"Why not, sir?" Vexacus asked innocently. "Have I not served you faithfully?"

Lothor grumbled something unintelligible. "I know you destroyed Motodrone."

"Ah," Vexacus realized. "Well, I suspected he was being disloyal to you."

"I'm sure," Lothor grunted. "Next time, let me decide which generals are being disloyal." He glared at Vexacus.

"Of course, sir," Vexacus agreed. "So, what is this task?"

Lothor frowned, thinking.

"As I see it, you can either trust me or trust Choobo to do it," Vexacus explained.

"Someone who's out for himself or a complete moron," Lothor commented. "That is a tough choice."

"Why don't I go with him?" Shimazu offered.

"That could work," Lothor agreed. "But I don't want him coming back in pieces," he warned Vexacus.

"As you wish," Vexacus agreed.

Shimazu started to scurry off. "On second thought, I think some of the kelzaks need to be bathed."

"Get back here," Lothor demanded coldly. "You already volunteered."

Shimazu reluctantly shuffled back over to the two.

"Now, what is _our_ task?" Vexacus asked, unable to keep from letting out a small laugh as he glanced over at Shimazu.

"I want the Gem of Souls," Lothor explained. "Make sure you get every last piece. Take a radiation detector."

"I already have a radiation detector here," Vexacus said, pointing to his head.

"Very well," Lothor agreed. "My nieces, my PAM and _my_ Gem of Souls. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Vexacus agreed.

"What were you doing in there anyway?" Shimazu asked.

"Reading," Lothor snapped. "Now get going. Oh, and do something about that field my nephew set up."

Vexacus bowed before leaving, Shimazu scurrying behind him.

Lothor frowned. "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" he grumbled before whispering, "I miss Zurgane."

* * *

Waldo stood in front of Dustin's home. It had been so long since he had stepped foot in his own home back in his dimension. He knew from Dustin's memories that he had a loving if overly protective mom, a frequently absent but what Dustin would call "awesome" dad and a fickle but still tolerable little sister. It felt so different from his own family, who had disowned him, forcing him to live in Ninja Ops once they discovered he was a Power Ranger. He had felt so humiliated to let Dustin see all his memories, those vulnerable sides of himself that he never showed even to his teammates and friends back in his dimension.

Sure, he would be proud to show how clever he was at coming up with new weapons or new ways to trash the old abandoned factories without the others catching on that he was really keeping them from trashing the rest of the city. He had always felt so smart and so together. All of that seemed like a distant memory as he slid a key out from under the welcome mat and unlocked the front door before returning the key and entering Dustin's home.

"Waldo, honey, is that you?" he heard the overly excited voice of Dustin's mom call, but he couldn't help thinking of her as _his_ mom. It was so tempting just to rely on Dustin's memories entirely and be her son, to really throw himself into the part and be her Dustin, her _Waldo_.

"Yeah, mom," Waldo called as he shook off his mixed emotions and headed toward Dustin's room. "I'm just picking up some stuff."

But, before he could make it through the living room to the small hallway between his room and the bathroom, she was already next to him. "Oh, Waldo, honey, you know I don't like it when you keep disappearing like this," she said, approaching him and waving her arms, a dish towel in one hand. "Maybe if we bought you a cell phone. I think we could afford a pay-as-you-go plan."

He turned to her and saw the genuine concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry, mom," he whispered. "I… I'm sorry I make you worry so much. I know I tell you to chill or say you freak out all the time and I know I was, like, _embarrassed_ to have friends over when I was a kid, but…" He stared at her, blinking for a moment. "But I know you only do it because you love me." He hugged her before she had time to react. "And I love you too," he whispered.

When he pulled away, she had shiny eyes. "I love you too, Waldo," she whispered back. "Why didn't you ever tell me I embarrassed you?"

"He—I," Waldo corrected, "thought either you knew or, if you didn't know, it would hurt you to tell you."

"You know you don't have to worry about me," she defended, forcing a grin and shrugging. "I've made an effort to call you Dustin around your friends and I took down any baby pictures where you're naked. I try not to embarrass you."

He paused, studying her. "You can keep calling me Waldo," he offered. "It's a… noble and unique name."

She smiled. "I always thought so but you…" She gestured around vaguely with one hand.

"You know I over react and get a little… excitable," he explained. "I get that form you. I don't think I saw that before, but there's definitely some of you in me."

"You seem so different tonight," she observed, staring at him through questioning eyes.

He frowned. "Oh… yeah, I guess so." He was again reminded that this wasn't his mother and those memories of her weren't his memories. He turned back toward Dustin's room.

"But I like it," she added.

He couldn't help but smile as he reached for the doorknob to Dustin's bedroom.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," she remembered, clapping her hands. "Your boss Kelly called and even stopped by looking for you. She sounds really worried. Sweet girl. Too bad she's a few years older than you—and your boss."

"Mom," Waldo started to scold, a habit from Dustin's memories, before he stopped himself. "I'll talk to her. Thanks, mom." He then entered Dustin's room, closed the door behind himself and sighed.

He looked through the mess that actually made sense to Dustin and found some clothes that he knew Dustin would like and something that would fit Tobi. That was when he noticed a certain torn yellow superhero costume with the initials AD and an exclamation mark. He ran his hands over the outfit, remembering Dustin's reaction to Tobi's gift. He also remembered when Tobi died and how Dustin felt. Even though the memory wasn't his own, it hurt so much that he had to shake himself back to the present.

Looking around, he noticed Dustin's yellow striped backpack and he neatly folded the clothes, including the costume and put them inside the backpack. He then disconnected Dustin's game system and collected a few games, including Mario Kart, before fitting them into the backpack and zipping it shut.

He was about to go when he noticed that Leo, Dustin's stuffed lion had fallen off Dustin's bed. He picked it up, returning it to its place beside his pillow. He smiled, remembering what that small stuffed lion meant to Dustin. He patted the lion, remembering the night that Tobi had slept over in Dustin's room. A flood of Dustin's emotions came back to him. He remembered confiding in Tobi about how he had been tricked and used so many times before by people he cared about. What he hadn't said then was that he already cared about Tobi. He trusted the quirky blonde and, on some level, he had already falling in love with him. It just took Tobi's death for him to finally understand what he felt. But, no, those were Dustin's memories, not his own.

Waldo's eyes fell on the Pinky and the Brain figures atop Dustin's desk and he remembered how much Tobi had liked that show growing up and how he had compared them to Pinky and Brain, Waldo being Brain of course. All of that blended now with Dustin's memories of Tobi and he realized that Dustin must feel this too, the lingering connection. And, combined with now sharing Tobi's thoughts, Dustin knew every memory of Waldo's life with Tobi from both perspectives, no matter how humiliating.

Suddenly Waldo felt so empty, like everything that he had once had was now someone else's. His life and his memories with Tobi were now Dustin's. Everything was Dustin's now. But didn't it work both ways? What was Dustin's was also his now. He tried to draw on that strength, that purity and honesty that Dustin possessed, that ability not to analyze a situation and determine a solution but just to go with his feelings. And his ability to never hold a grudge.

After a moment of trying this, his feelings told him to go to this dimension's Hunter. But those weren't his feelings at all. They were Dustin's. Dustin would turn to Hunter if he didn't have Tobi to turn to. So, Waldo tried to search his own feelings. The problem was, he wasn't sure what he felt. Maybe he should talk to this dimension's Cam. Like his dimension's Cam, he cared, but, unlike his dimension's Cam, he understood. That's what he'd do. It felt like a more Waldo than Dustin decision.

Plan in mind, Waldo heaved the overstuffed backpack onto his shoulder and left Dustin's room, running into his little sister. "Sorry, Maya," he apologized. "Didn't see you down there."

"I'm _trying_ to get taller," Maya told him. "I read online that zinc is one of the catalysts in growth and I realized that being a vegetarian and therefore having more copper than zinc in my diet may be stunting my growth."

"From a biological standpoint, that's true to a degree," Waldo agreed before he said, in a tone that sounded just like Dustin's, "But you've been a vegetarian since you were like six."

"Seven," she corrected, "but I'm only referring to supplementing zinc into my diet, _not_ eating animals."

Waldo nodded. "Yeah, who would want to eat animals?"

"You," she suggested.

"Oh, right," he realized.

"Anyway, it's only a theory and I'll have to test it of course," she continued.

He nodded, realizing that, in this dimension, it was Dustin's sister who had inherited the analytical tendencies. And, just like Waldo, she was also prone to only learning from trial and error. "Good luck, Maya," he told her, giving her wavy brown hair a ruffle as she entered the bathroom, pointed to the door and said, "Occupied."

Despite this being Dustin's family and the memories Dustin's memories and even despite him wanting to turn to Dustin's friends instead of his own, Waldo couldn't help but smile. He liked this life. It was too bad it wasn't his own.

* * *

Shimazu entered Vexacus' fish-shaped ship, looking around excitedly. "Don't touch anything," Vexacus warned as he attached a temporarily deactivated Condortron to a pair of straps attached to the back wall of his ship.

Shimazu clapped his hands together, scurrying around. "We're working together now. We should _trust_ each other." In his mind, he added, _or at least not try to kill me_.

Vexacus laughed, tightening the straps around Condortron. "Oh, that's a good one." He then sat down in a single pilot seat and started up his ship.

"What are those?" Shimazu asked, staring at a set of scratched and burned colored crystals on a wall display next to what looked like a collection of equally scratched and burned morphers.

"Just a few souvenirs that survived the destruction of my last ship," Vexacus explained as the ship shook, taking off and Shimazu was knocked to the ground. "I am a bounty hunter, after all."

Shimazu struggled to stand before being knocked over again as Vexacus' ship left the bay of Lothor's ship and began its descent down to Earth. Condortron, meanwhile, remained securely fastened to the wall.

"Having fun yet?" Vexacus asked, spinning the ship and causing Shimazu to crash against the ceiling.

"I know you're doing that on purpose," Shimazu called as what looked like a monster's skull detached from the wall and hit him in the head.

Vexacus glanced back to find Shimazu unconscious. "Finally some silence," he gloated, grabbing the skull and studying it fondly as he piloted with one hand. "Soon you will have a new head to join you, my friend," he told the skull. "And it will still be wearing its black face mask."

* * *

Waldo entered Ninja Ops and immediately handed Tobi and Dustin the backpack he was carrying. "You'll find clothes and games inside," he said distractedly while holding a bundle of yellow in his hand.

"Oh, totally forgot the games," Dustin nodded. "Thanks, bro."

"I'm going to check on Cam," Waldo replied. He then turned and left the room as Tobi and Dustin exchanged confused looks before removing their towels and getting dressed.

"Dustin, Tobi, maybe you two can do that in another room," Shane suggested.

Skyla stared wide-eyed. "So _that's_ the difference between male and female humans," she realized, glancing at Shane. "That means you have…"

"Uh, yeah," Shane mumbled, blushing. "Dustin, Tobi, dudes, please."

"They remind me of Anerian worms," Skyla continued, "like when I was in a burrowing form on the planet Edenoi."

Shane blinked at her.

Tobi and Dustin took a hint, taking their playful dressing and undressing game out of the main room.

"Metal moth," grumpy Sensei called from across the room. When Circuit continued to hover over Cam's computer, ignoring the guinea pig, he shouted, "Get over here you stupid hunk of circuits!"

Circuit spun around. "Did you call me?"

"Really, Kanoi, you shouldn't be mean to Cam's toy," Cam's mother said as she continued to study the fragment of the Scroll of Destiny that Sensei had her get for the two tiny-handed guinea pigs.

"Come over here, _please_," grumpy Sensei called, glancing at his wife for support.

"Good boy," she offered.

Circuit flew over to the two guinea pigs and a human. "What do you need?" it asked. "Cam has me monitoring the field around the planet."

"That can wait," grumpy Sensei said dismissively. "We want to know, since you were from the future and you still have memories from that body, what do you know about what is going to happen with…" He glanced back at the scroll. "…The Abyss of Evil."

"The Abyss of Evil was permanently sealed by burying the Shade Amulet in it a few days ago," Circuit explained. "It will not reopen for at least a thousand years. I have no memories from beyond the year 3001."

"Circuit originated from your dimension," Sensei pointed out. "It will not know anything about the future of this dimension."

Grumpy Sensei frowned. "But your scroll shows the Abyss of Evil opening here in this dimension too."

"I understand that, but the rest remains uncertain," Sensei replied.

"Where is this dimension's Gem of Souls?" Cam's mother asked.

"My son has the fragments," Sensei answered.

"I thought that oversized robot dragon opened the abyss back in our dimension," grumpy Sensei commented.

"It had the Gem of Souls inside it, powering it," Cam's mother pointed out.

"Miko has a point," Sensei agreed. "We should make certain that the fragments we have never fall into Lothor's hands."

"But it's destined to happen," grumpy Sensei argued, gesturing his tiny arm toward the scroll.

"Destinies can change," Sensei replied, staring at the scroll. "Some of them _must_ change."

Grumpy Sensai gave him a silent nod while he also looked at the Scroll of Destiny.

Meanwhile, across the room, something flickered on Cam's computer screen. It was a ship entering the Earth's atmosphere, but Circuit was still over by the others and the ship quickly passed out of sensor range or turned invisible. Either way, by the time Circuit returned, it was gone.

* * *

Waldo entered Ninja Ops' kitchen to find Cam and the two Toris hard at work making something with a whole lot of chocolate and caramel.

"Hey, we're not ready yet," one of the Toris warned Waldo, standing between him and their project.

"It's not Dustin, it's Waldo," Cam said, glancing up from his mixing.

"How do you know?" the other Tori asked.

"He's not with Tobi," Cam said simply.

"Good point," Tori agreed, nodding and backing away.

"What are you making?" Waldo asked, trying to sound casual.

"Chocolate covered Dustins," Tori explained.

Waldo smiled. "Tobi will like that."

"We hope so," she agreed.

"Cam, can I… talk to you?" Waldo then asked.

Cam looked up curiously. "Sure," he agreed.

Waldo glanced around. "Alone?"

"Oh," Cam replied, looking between the two Toris. "Of course." He walked over to the sink and washed his hands before directing Waldo to the hallway outside. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Your dad said that we can decide whether to go back or to stay here," Waldo explained. "I think I should go back and I… I thought you'd want to know."

"Oh," Cam replied, his eyes betraying the disappointment he felt.

"I know I don't belong here," Waldo continued.

"Is that how you really feel or is this just about seeing Tobi with Dustin?" Cam asked.

"It's about that too," Waldo agreed, but every memory I have is now a part of both Dustin and Tobi. Our whole past together is theirs now. What do I have?"

"You're Tobi's best friend," Cam suggested.

"You're Tobi's best friend," Waldo argued, fiddling with the yellow fabric in his hands. "Maybe I should have been, but it was more like he was just Tori's brother. At least, that's how I treated him."

"You can't change the past, but you'll never have a chance to make things right if you leave now," Cam explained.

"How do I do that?" Waldo asked. "With all Dustin's memories still in my head, I barely know who I am. It's like Dustin's stolen my life and my love… Not that Tobi ever was…" He sighed. "Cam, I came to you because…"

"I care and you think I can understand," Cam finished unemotionally.

Waldo stared at him for a moment. "How did you know?"

Cam glanced back at the kitchen. "Let's just say you're not the only one."

Waldo nodded, looking down at his hands.

"Have you tried talking to Hunter?" Cam asked. "This dimension's Hunter?" he clarified.

"We've talked some," Waldo agreed, "but… Dustin's feelings keep getting in the way."

"I thought you just kept Dustin's memories, not his feelings," Cam pointed out. "Are you sure they're not your own feelings?"

Waldo studied his face. "I don't know," he admitted, "but why should I talk to Hunter?"

"He can relate," Cam replied.

"How can _he_ relate?" Waldo asked skeptically.

"He's in love with one half of the now inseparable Dustin-Tobi and you the other," Cam explained.

Waldo frowned, thinking. "I guess I've been thinking about myself too much again to realize he must be hurting too."

Cam just nodded. "It's hard to love someone who is in love with someone else."

"Tell me about it," Waldo agreed. "It's worse when you hurt and betrayed him."

"That part I wouldn't know," Cam admitted.

Waldo smiled at him. "I know," he whispered. "You're a nice guy, Cam. You make me want to stay, just to be around you."

"Thanks," Cam said, blushing.

"I guess I'll see you over at Hunter and Blake's later," Waldo said, turning to go. "I hope Tobi really likes what you guys are making for him." Then he left.

Cam stood watching him go for a moment and whispered to himself, "And I hope you and Hunter make each other happy." Blinking heavily, he returned to the kitchen.

* * *

Shimazu awoke on the floor of Vexacus' ship and looked around. The shark-faced bounty hunter was gone, the door out of the small ship left open. Condortron was still strapped to the wall, motionless.

Standing, Shimazu dusted himself off. He was about to leave the ship when the crystals on the wall again caught his eye. He carefully removed the bright pink one, wiped off some ash and held it up to study it closer.

"Lovely," he murmured, about to pocket the crystal when he noticed that the wall display suddenly looked off balance, so he took the matching pink morpher above it and smiled at his handiwork before noticing that the pink crystal fit into the matching morpher. He then attached the morpher to his wrist and turned to leave the ship. But, as he did so, he saw Vexacus' head sitting on the pilot seat. He was so startled by this that he fell out the door and straight into—splash—water.

Shimazu flailed wildly as he tried to grab the side of Vexacus' fish-shaped space ship that was apparently floating on top of the ocean, water all around. He didn't know how to swim and the middle of the ocean hardly seemed like a good place to learn.

Just as he finally managed to pull himself out of the water and back onto the ship, a hideous monster emerged from underwater. He couldn't help but scream like a girl at its appearance.

"You're finally awake," the monster commented and Shimazu realized that this was Vexacus. He had a scaly fish-like face with one eye missing and gills on each side of his neck. He climbed past Shimazu and reached for his head—or, his helmet, and put it on. "What are you looking at?"

"All this time I thought that was your head," Shimazu explained, trying to pretend like he wasn't just cowering in fear.

"Are you telling me that ridiculous clown mask is really your face?" Vexacus asked while studying something in his palm.

"Yes," Shimazu replied. "Well, sort of. I'm a spirit bound to this form, sort of like a living statue." He briefly removed his mask to reveal a ghostly glow before returning the mask to his face.

"So, if I destroy your body, you'd still be around?" Vexacus asked, glancing Shimazu up and down.

Shimazu immediately scurried around the tiny ship, looking for somewhere to hide.

Vexacus laughed. "Don't worry," he assured him. "I wouldn't want to disobey Lothor." This made him laugh even harder.

"Really?" Shimazu asked, easing closer.

"Someone needs to stand between me and the Power Rangers," Vexacus explained dismissively."

"So why are we in the middle of the ocean?" Shimazu asked, still fidgeting nervously.

"Just tracking down these," Vexacus replied, opening his hand to reveal pale green gem shards.

"That was easy," Shimazu commented, leaning toward Vexacus' hand, which he promptly closed.

"Not really," Vexacus corrected, lowering his hand, "but you missed the part where I searched the ocean floor with the radiation detector in my helmet. In fact, I even had time for a nice refreshing swim before you pulled your lazy keaster off that floor."

"So now we find Lothor's nieces, Choobo and the PAM," Shimazu listed off.

"Not quite," Vexacus disagreed. "These three fragments are incomplete. The rangers must have the rest."

Shimazu shook with fear. "You mean… with that gold ranger?"

Vexacus patted his shoulder. "That's why you're here," he laughed. "You stand between me and the gold ranger while Condortron attacks them."

Shimazu could do little more than whimper in terror.

* * *

Geo was helping Hunter and Blake move furniture around their apartment while Marah and Kapri attempted to make pizza ice cream in the kitchen.

"I can move it all by myself because I have super strength," Geo insisted as he helped the brothers move their couch.

"I'd like to see that," Blake commented, shaking his head.

"Okay, give it a shot," Hunter said, setting down his side of the couch.

Geo reached his small hands under the couch and grunted and heaved, but couldn't lift it. After a while of trying different angles, he gave up, frowning and glaring at the couch.

"What happened to your super strength?" Blake joked.

"The couch is just super_er_ heavy," Geo explained.

The brothers glanced at each other. "Hey, it makes sense to me," Hunter said.

"Then why can we move it?" Blake asked.

"We're super heroes, remember?" Hunter replied.

Blake rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Destiny can help!" Geo called, reaching for the dog. "She's Super Dog!"

Destiny just climbed up on the couch and sat down.

"Oh yeah, that helped," Blake commented.

Just then, a knock fame from the front door. "I'll get it," Hunter offered, leaving the others. When he opened the door, he found Waldo standing outside, looking strangely anxious.

"Uh, which one are you?" Hunter asked.

"The one without Tobi," Waldo replied with a flinch as Hunter gestured for him to come in.

"You could have just said you're Waldo," Hunter suggested as he closed the door.

"Yeah," Waldo mumbled. "So, what are you doing?" he asked, gesturing around.

"We're moving things around to make room for everyone," Hunter explained. "We're thinking of having karaoke too."

"You can sing?" Waldo asked, surprised before remembering, "Oh, Totally Tallented competition.

"Shane can sing too, but Tobi outshines us all," Hunter commented.

"Yeah," Waldo mumbled. "Outshines."

"You okay?" Hunter asked, studying Waldo's face.

"How are you so cool with this?" Waldo asked, gesturing around.

"I don't think they're gonna trash our place," Hunter defended.

"Not that," Waldo said, shaking his head. "How are you okay with Tobi and Dustin when you still love Dustin? How does it not drive you crazy?"

Hunter flinched before recovering and leaning against the wall. "I thought you wanted Tobi to be happy," he said softly.

"I do," Waldo said with a sigh, leaning against the wall next to Hunter. "But it's different for me because I had Dustin in my head. Before that, I hated Dustin for what he had. I even hated Tobi for loving him. But you never had Tobi in you like I had Dustin in me, so how can you see Dustin with him and not…"

"I wasn't always okay with it," Hunter admitted. "I used to be jealous of them before I had a reason to be, but Tobi is special to me now, and not just because he's special to Dustin. They're my friends and I'm honestly happy for them."

"You're not jealous at all?" Waldo asked skeptically.

Hunter shook his head. "That's not the problem. I mean, I know Dustin loves me too. I also know Tori loves me, but, just like Dustin loves Tobi more, she loves Blake more." He gestured toward his brother. "I'm not jealous of them because I love the people they love too. I'm just…"

"Lonely?" Waldo suggested.

Hunter shrugged. "Sort of. I just want to love someone who can love me back without wishing I was someone else."

"What about Cam?" Waldo asked.

"He's in love with Tori," Hunter replied.

"But, by that logic, you're looking for someone who can do what you can't," Waldo pointed out.

Hunter looked at him, confused.

"You're in love with someone else," Waldo explained. "You'll never be able to _just_ love the person who loves you."

Hunter stared at him, thinking. "I want to love someone who doesn't love someone else more and I'm the one still in love with someone else. You're right." He grinned. "Definitely the smart one."

Waldo blushed. "Hunter, I…" He paused, taking a breath. "I went to Dustin's house and I realized that I still have all Dustin's memories and he has mine, meaning Tobi has them now. I feel like there's nothing left that's me anymore. I don't even feel like 'the smart one,' I feel so stupid to be controlled by someone else's emotions. Someone who…" He trailed off as his eyes stared into Hunter's.

Hunter raised a hand, briefly running it through Waldo's hair. "Waldo, you're not a substitute for Dustin. I thought you understood that."

Waldo blushed, blinking. "Hunter…"

"What?" Hunter asked.

"Nevermind," Waldo said quickly. "They're not _my_ feelings and I just happen to look like…"

"You're not…" Hunter began but Waldo pushed off from the wall.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air," Waldo said hastily as he left the door he had just entered, leaving a confused Hunter behind.

"Go get him," Geo's voice called.

Hunter pushed off the wall, looking over at the boy who was just telling Destiny to chase Blake. But, in Hunter's mind, the words meant something else. He turned and opened the door, following Waldo.

* * *

Dustin and Tobi were both dressed and sitting in the main room of Ninja Ops. "Shorts," Tobi commented, admiring the yellow and blue shorts he had on. "Looks like Waldo knows what I like."

"Yeah, he did pay a lot more attention to you than he wanted you to know," Dustin replied.

"I know," Tobi sighed.

"Don't worry," Dustin told him. "Things'll work out for him too."

"I know," Tobi said, running a hand over Dustin's brown and yellow shorts, down to his bare tanned leg.

"I know you like my legs better," Dustin interrupted, "but you have way better legs." He caressed Tobi's calf muscle. "Even the little blonde hairs are soft."

"It's because blonde hair is thinner than brown or black hair," Tobi explained, "which is naturally courser." He stared at Dustin for a moment before they both said, "Waldo's memories."

"I wonder if a lot of me is left in him too," Dustin pondered.

Tobi nodded. "I hope so."

"Thanks, TZT," Dustin said, patting his knee. "Too bad he never got to touch your girl legs though."

Tobi grinned. "I'm glad I know what you mean when you say that."

"Me too," Dustin replied, kissing him on the lips.

Tobi traced his hands up Dustin's sides while Dustin did the same. When they parted, Tobi looked around the room.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Dustin agreed to some unspoken comment.

"They care about you so much too that it's only fair I don't totally monopolize your time at the party," Tobi said.

"I'll try to spread my awesomeness around," Dustin promised before giving Tobi another kiss, "but I want to be in you."

"Your spirit might not be in me anymore, but you're still a part of—Oh," Tobi realized, blushing as a series of images flashed from Dustin's mind into his own. "Tonight?"

Dustin nodded. "I want to go all the way with you."

Tobi traced a hand over Dustin's face, feeling the heat of his tanned skin. "I'd love that," he whispered.

Dustin smiled. "I know."

Both giggled at each other while Cam entered the room. "Is everyone ready?" Cam asked, looking around.

"We were born ready!" Dustin declared, winking at Tobi.

Tobi nodded, smiling. "I guess we're all coming." He gestured toward the other dimension's rangers.

"Your dad said it'd be cool," the other dimension's Cam told his counterpart.

"I see," Cam mumbled, glancing at his father.

"I don't think everyone will fit in my van," Tori pointed out, holding a stack of tupperware containers.

"That's okay," Tobi said, standing.

"Yeah, we're gonna like hit the store real quick," Dustin added, holding Tobi's hand. "We'll meet you guys at Hunter and Blake's."

"Uh, okay," Tori replied, confused as the two scampered out of Ninja Ops.

As Tobi's sister emerged from the kitchen carrying an even taller stack of Tupperware containers, Cam turned to both Toris and offered, "Here, let me help you."

"Thanks," they both replied, exchanging glances as Cam took most of the containers and gestured for everyone to leave Ninja Ops.

* * *

Choobo was wandering around the outskirts of Blue Bay Harbor completely lost. He had failed to find Lothor's nieces or his PAM and he couldn't even transport back to the ship. He was trapped on Earth and he didn't like it one bit. "No one appreciates me," he mumbled just as a pair of metal claws suddenly grabbed him by the arms and lifted him high into the air. "Ahh!" he shrieked before being dropped roughly to the ground.

"Good work, Condortron," Vexacus' voice declared as Choobo flailed his arms helplessly on the ground.

"Can someone help me up?" Choobo asked, still flailing, unable to stand due to the uneven weight on his back.

"Oh, alright," Shimazu agreed, helping the alien up.

"So, I'm guessing you are still empty handed," Vexacus commented.

"I tried to find them, but I got lost," Choobo explained.

"I expected as much," Vexacus replied. "I'll take over from here."

"Does that mean I can go back to the ship now?" Choobo asked hopefully.

"Not until we complete the Gem of Souls," Vexacus explained.

"But I thought we were here for Marah and Kapri and the Personal Alien Manager," Choobo pondered.

"All in good time," Vexacus said before suddenly gesturing for the others to duck. "Shh," he warned. "It looks like Choobo did manage to find something."

* * *

Waldo sat on the edge of a moss-covered fallen tree, the sunset casting shadows through the trees. He reached down for a pair of scissors when suddenly he was tackled to the ground.

He tried to lift the body off him, but it was too quick and too strong for him, so he tried to roll instead, though this just ended up rolling the figure with him.

"Don't do it," a voice said intensely over him as he fought against his attacker. But, as he rolled onto his back, he looked up to see Hunter crouching over him, their midsections touching.

Waldo caught his breath, his cheeks flushing. "You freaked me out," he scolded as he pushed the muscular blonde off him.

"Look, I know you're upset, but that's no reason to—" Hunter began to protest.

"What are you talking about?" Waldo interrupted, picking up something from the ground.

"The scissors," Hunter said. "I thought…" Then he saw the needle and thread. "Oh."

"You thought I was going to cut myself?" Waldo asked, surprised.

Hunter sighed, sitting on the tree. "I guess I over reacted," he said.

Waldo nodded, taking a seat next to Hunter. "You could say that."

Hunter grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

Waldo looked down at the fabric in his hands and brushed a stray leaf off it. "How did you find me?"

"I actually had to call Cam to track you down," Hunter admitted. "I checked the track and you weren't there."

"I thought of going there, but that's what Dustin would do," Waldo explained.

"And you can't do anything he does?" Hunter asked, gesturing to the fabric. "He definitely doesn't sew."

Waldo shrugged. "I'm not very good at sewing. I just wanted to go somewhere where I could like… could _be_ myself."

Hunter looked from the yellow fabric to Waldo's face. "When I didn't know where you were, I was really worried, but I realized I don't really know you. I didn't know where to find you," he admitted before gesturing around. "So this is your 'brooding spot'?"

"Yeah," Waldo replied. "I just needed to try to clear my head, but I can't get rid of him." He gestured to his hands. "Here I am fixing a gift Tobi gave him."

Hunter looked at the brunette. "You can hear his thoughts like Tobi?"

"No, not anymore," Waldo answered. "That's not what I mean. I can't get rid of his memories or his _desires_."

"Desires?" Hunter repeated.

"Like how I still feel this connection to you, this lo—deep friendship," Waldo explained. "It's not _my_ feelings."

"That doesn't make much sense," Hunter commented.

"I know," Waldo replied.

"I mean, having Dustin's memories is one thing," Hunter continued, "but you can't keep his feelings. Maybe they're yours."

Waldo studied Hunter's face, staring into his blue eyes as they turned purple in the light from the setting sun. "That's what Cam said too," he whispered, "but how do I know if they're my feelings and not his?"

"I don't know," Hunter admitted. "I've never had someone else's memories in my head. I have enough of my own." He smiled at Waldo, watching the sunset turn the brunette's brown eyes orange. "I guess we'll have to both figure out who you are together."

Waldo smiled. "Thanks, du—Thanks, Hunter."

"No problem, _dude_," Hunter replied with a laugh.

Waldo rolled his eyes, still grinning.

"I'm glad you're okay," Hunter said sincerely. "I'd be sad if I lost you."

"After losing Dustin to Tobi," Waldo nodded.

Hunter shrugged. "Maybe, but you're your own person." He smiled. "Once we figure out who that is."

"Well, I'm definitely a person who's better at fixing a computer than an outfit," Waldo said, holding up a yellow outfit with the logo "AD!" on the front.

"You're better than you give yourself credit for," Hunter said.

"Thanks," Waldo mumbled before admitting, "I was thinking about going back…"

"Yeah, we should get back before the party starts," Hunter said, standing.

"That's not what I mean," Waldo corrected. "I mean, back to my dimension."

"Oh," Hunter mumbled, sitting again. "Are you sure?"

"No," Waldo admitted. "I thought it would help me feel like myself again, but I don't think it would and… I'd miss you."

"I'd miss you too," Hunter agreed. "Like I said, I'd be sad it I lost you."

"Whoever I am," Waldo added with a grin.

"Right," Hunter said, brushing a hand through Waldo's hair.

"Hunter," Waldo whispered, his eyelashes fluttering at the blonde's touch.

Hunter grinned at him. "You may look just like Dustin and even have his memories, but you feel different."

"My hair?" Waldo asked, confused.

"Just the…" Hunter shrugged. "…aura?"

"Aura?" Waldo repeated.

"Yeah, I guess that doesn't make sense," Hunter admitted, scratching his head. "It's just a feeling. You're curious about things like him, but you're more contemplative and a little obsessive. It's kinda cute actually."

Waldo raised an eyebrow.

Hunter laughed. "Dustin can't do that, you know?"

"Oh," Waldo mumbled, lowering his eyebrow. "So, I guess we should get back before the party starts."

Hunter frowned. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed, looking down.

Waldo studied him for a moment. "Can I kiss you?"

Hunter smiled, chuckling softly. "I've been sitting here wanting to kiss you but I thought you'd think I was thinking of Dustin." He leaned forward toward Waldo's face.

Waldo took a breath before leaning forward and kissing Hunter on the lips. The blonde was gentle, like the first time he'd kissed Dustin. It was obvious he was holding back, but Waldo was also holding back.

When they parted, both their faces were flushed. "So, now I guess I'm ready to go," Hunter said, standing. "I think there'll be dancing. You should see Tori's dancing. Or, I guess you remember it through Dustin."

Waldo stood, nodding before admitting, "I don't know how to dance and neither did Dustin. Well, I mean, not _real_ dancing."

"I'll teach you," Hunter promised with a wink.

"You can dance?" Waldo asked.

Hunter chuckled. "My moves are legendary."

"Awesome," Waldo replied before stopping himself. "I mean, that's… interesting."

Hunter laughed, patting Waldo's shoulder and leading the brunette out of the woods.

Behind them, four figures stood watching from the shadows cast by the setting sun.

"We should take the rest of the gem now," Shimazu whispered to his fellow aliens.

"They don't have it," Vexacus replied calmly while Condortron flapped its metal wings restlessly, "but they may lead us to it."

"And to Marah and Kapri?" Choobo asked.

"I'll let you be in charge of that part," Vexacus said, patting Choobo's back.

"Oh boy!" Choobo declared. "I get to be in charge!"

Vexacus shook his head, leading the group forward. "Just be quiet and stay out of sight."

* * *

Dustin and Tobi arrived at Hunter and Blake's apartment, grocery bag in hand, when they noticed that Hunter and Waldo were also just arriving. "Hey, dudes," Dustin greeted with a big smile.

Hunter gestured to the apartment, which had the thump of music coming from inside. "Sounds like they started without us."

"What's in the bag?" Waldo asked, trying to sound casual.

Dustin and Tobi exchanged mischievous looks. "Just some…" Tobi began.

"Fun stuff," Dustin finished with a chuckle.

Hunter and Waldo exchanged confused looks, Hunter shrugging as the four entered the apartment.

All their eyes went wide as they saw how many people were crammed into the modest sized apartment. There were two Shanes, two Toris, two Cams, two Blakes, two Marahs, two Kapris, a Hunter, Geo, Destiny, Skyla, Cam's mother and two Senseis, though the guinea pigs and the dog didn't take up much room.

While Cam's mother set grumpy Sensei atop Destiny and the dog ran off, the guinea pig hanging on for dear life, Hunter approached the two Toris. "I see the party started," he commented.

Tori looked around. "You can definitely say that." Shane was singing karaoke love songs to entertain Skyla while some others were playing Super Smash Brothers.

"I also see _they're_ here," Hunter added, gesturing toward space ninja Marah and Kapri.

"We couldn't leave them in Ninja Ops with all of us here," Tori replied.

"And they promised to be on their best behavior or Sensei will blast them," Tobi's sister added.

"Okay…" Hunter said skeptically.

"We're glad you guys are here," Tori said, smiling. "So, which one's the guest of honor?" she asked, looking between the two Dustins.

Waldo flinched as Tobi raised his hand, still holding Dustins, and declared, "That'd be Awesome Dude here."

Waldo looked down at the outfit in his hands. "Dustin, this is for you," he said, presenting his twin with the repaired costume. "I'm not that great at sewing, but I fixed it the best I could."

Dustin took the outfit, studying it. "Thanks, bro. You're awesome!" He then hugged Waldo. "You sure you don't want to wear it? You can be Awesome Dude."

Waldo shook his head. "Nah, I'm good," he replied. "You're… the guest of honor."

"Yep," Dustin agreed, pulling away. As he did so, he nodded toward Tobi.

Tobi looked at Dustin before agreeing with him silently. "Dustin thinks you'd like it if I thanked you for us both," he said, leaning up and kissing Waldo on the lips.

Waldo's cheeks flushed and his breathe quickened as their lips met. He closed his eyes, trying to savor the moment before Tobi pulled away.

Hunter watched Waldo's expression and his jaw muscles tightened.

"I'll put this with the rest of the stuff in the kitchen," Tobi's sister offered, reaching for the grocery bag in Tobi's hand.

"Wait!" Dustin and Tobi called together. "It's…"

She reached into the bag, removing a spray can of whip cream. "This'll go great with the ice cream." She peered into the bag. "There's all kinds of toppings in here." She pulled out chocolate sauce and then caramel followed by strawberry topping.

"Strawberry, my fav—" Tori began to say before glancing at Hunter just as Blake walked over. "I mean… one of my favorites," she corrected. When she looked back at Tobi's sister, she was pulling something else out of the bag. "I've never heard of KY sauce," she said. "Is that spicy?"

Tobi's sister laughed, winking at her brother who, along with Dustin, was blushing furiously. "Oh, yeah, it's really _hot_."

"We'll hold onto that," Tobi said quickly, grabbing the bag and handing it to Dustin.

"Uh, yeah," Dustin mumbled.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Hunter asked, pulling Dustin and Tobi into the kitchen.

"What's up, dude?" Dustin asked innocently.

"Were you two…" He gestured toward the bag. "…planning on having sex here in our apartment?"

"Maybe," Dustin replied with a cute grin.

"They're _not_ doing it in my room," Blake said quickly. "You'd probably be turned on if you found a mess in your bed, but not me."

Hunter blinked at his brother before turning back to Dustin and Tobi.

"Don't worry, we've thought about that and can do it in the bathroom if you want," Tobi offered.

"We tasted each other's _natural_ flavors when we gave each other blow jobs in the shower back at Ninja Ops and it was awesome," Dustin added.

Blake visibly cringed. "Too much information."

Hunter looked between the two lovebirds. "I was just thinking you'd give us some Dustin time too."

Dustin looked at Tobi before nodding. "Of course, dude," he agreed. "We can wait."

Tobi nodded also, patting Dustin's back. "He's all yours."

"Thanks, Tobi," Hunter said with a smile. "Oh, hey, we set up karaoke and I thought, since you're pretty good at singing…"

"That'd be awesome," Dustin said, looking at Tobi.

"I guess Shane looks like he needs a break," Tobi said with a giggle.

"We're playing Smash Bros and we can put in Mario Kart," Blake chimed in.

"Awesome," Dustin and Tobi agreed.

"Hey, Tori… and Tori," Hunter called, turning around. "We're gonna play Mario Kart. Maybe you guys can bring out a _snack_."

"Oh," Tori realized, nodding.

"Yes, us womenfolk will bring our men food while you go off to battle flying turtle shells, evil plants and other unspeakable horrors," Tobi's sister added.

Tori hit her, whispering, "_Chocolate_."

"I know," she replied dismissively.

The moment Tobi and Dustin ran over to play Mario Kart, Tori asked if the brothers had a large party tray.

"There's a plastic one on top of the fridge," Blake answered, turning to leave, but Tobi's sister stopped him. "What?" he asked.

"I hear from my dimension's Blake and Hunter that you two got a little frisky with each other when you were stuck in our dimension," she accused.

The brother's exchanged horrified looks. "But they weren't there," Blake protested. "Maybe, uh, they made it up?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "I was," she said, "and I told her what I saw."

"So, what's the deal?" Tobi's sister asked.

"What deal?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Quit pretending that you can't cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife," she accused.

The brothers promptly forgot how to breathe.

"I'm waiting," she prompted.

"Like I said, maybe there's nothing to tell," Tori interrupted. "Goldwinger made them do it and… that butterfly was… odd." She cringed at the memory.

"Oh, my dear sister," Tobi's sister scolded. "That is what you call denial."

Tori glared at her. "The only thing I'm in denial about is how much I want to hit you and, trust me, you're lucky for that."

"Give in to your feelings," Tobi's sister insisted.

"Cat fight!" Blake spontaneously cheered. "Go for it! Tear each other's clothes off!"

Hunter stared at his brother just as both Toris went to smack the shorter Bradley upside the head.

"No, wait!" Blake protested, raising his arms to protect himself. "Fine, we'll tell you."

The two Toris lowered their arms.

"Tell them… _what_?" Hunter asked hesitantly.

"We've jacked off together and given each other hand jobs, but that's it," Blake explained. "Though Hunter's always begging for more."

Hunter's face went as crimson as his shirt.

"He wanted his first 'mansex' experience to be with me," Blake said, making a disgusted face.

"Have you two kissed?" Tobi's sister asked while Tori recovered from the information overload.

"No," Hunter said firmly.

"Not that he hasn't begged for that too," Blake said, shaking his head.

"I only asked that one time!" Hunter protested.

"_Begged_," Blake corrected.

"I don't need to beg," Hunter argued. "If I wanted to kiss you, I'd just—" And the blonde leaned down and planted a kiss directly on his younger brother's lips. Hunter had assumed Blake would pull away, but instead the black haired Bradley froze and Hunter found himself kissing his brother longer than he had thought. That was when their lips began to move together.

They pulled away from each other slowly, staring into each other's eyes, blue meeting brown. After blinking a few times, they became aware that everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at them. That is, all except for Dustin and Tobi who were too engrossed in their game.

"Is it just me, or was that the hottest thing you've ever seen?" Tobi's sister asked.

Tori just stood there, her mouth hanging open.

"Uh, let's help you put the snacks out," Hunter immediately volunteered.

"Uh huh," Blake mumbled, nodding.

"Crash and burn!" Tobi yelled while Dustin laughed. They looked away from the screen to see everyone else standing around not talking and staring at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Maybe you should sing something to like break the whole awkward silence thing," Dustin suggested.

Tobi nodded, getting up. But, as he walked over to the other side of the room, he started to feel dizzy. He looked back at Dustin, the wavy haired brunette feeling the same sensation. Dustin walked over to Tobi to ask what happened but then the feeling went away, until it was completely gone when the two touched.

"That was weird," Tobi commented. "Anyway, let's see what we have here." He began looking through song tracks.

"That one," Dustin said, seeing what Tobi saw through Tobi's eyes.

Tobi smiled, starting the song. "This one's dedicated to Dustin Brooks, yellow ranger and all around awesome dude."

Dustin grinned wide.

"He's got a power and a force that you've never seen before," Tobi sang. "He's got the ability to morph and even up the score. No one can ever take him down. The power lies on his siiiide! Go go Yellow Ranger! Go go Yellow Ranger! Super Awesome Yellow Ranger!"

Dustin walked up next to Tobi and began to sing along, "He knows the fate of the world is lying in his hands. He knows to only use his powers for defense. No one will ever take him down. The power lies on his siiiide! Go go Gold Ranger!"

"Go go Power Rangers!" Tobi chimed in and together they sang, "Super Awesome Power Rangers!"

Destiny ran over, grumpy Sensei still atop her, and barked each time the word "go" was sung.

"Come on, dudes!" Dustin insisted.

"Go go Power Rangers!" Shane joined in, laughing.

"Super Awesome Power Rangers!" Dustin declared.

"Snacks are served!" the Tori's announced, interrupting the end of the song. They emerged from the kitchen with a large party tray full of chocolate treats.

Dustin and Tobi immediately stopped their mini concert and ran over. "Little chocolate people!" Dustin noticed.

"Chocolate!" Geo yelled. "I need chocolate for my super powers!"

"Chocolate Powered Geodude," Dustin nodded in agreement.

"They're Chocolate Covered Dustins," Tori explained.

Tobi smiled, looking at Dustin, who shared a knowing look with him. "Thanks, guys," Tobi said sincerely. "You really are the best sisters ever."

"We know," Tobi's sister replied.

"Yeah, you're all the best friends ever," Dustin agreed.

"We're glad you're back, Dustin," Tori added.

"Really glad," Hunter agreed.

"So, can the rest of us have any or are they all for Dustin?" Shane asked.

"He could eat them all," Tori agreed. "We've both seen it before."

"And he wants to," Tobi added, "but we're sharing tonight."

Dustin nodded, taking a single Chocolate Covered Dustin and eating it. "Mmm," he moaned.

"Tastes Dustiny," Tobi said, not having tasted one himself yet but experiencing it through Dustin.

Dustin giggled, glancing at the grocery bag in the corner.

"Can we have some too?" the other dimension's Shane asked, approaching with his dimension's rangers.

Tori looked at Tobi's sister. "Sure, there's enough for everyone," she agreed.

"Awesome," the other dimension's Cam muttered.

Waldo noticed this dimension's Cam sitting in a chair near the window and he walked over to him. "Not hungry?" he asked.

Cam looked up. "After the last time we had snacks here, no."

"I'm guessing you're not into parties in general," Waldo added.

"Not particularly," he agreed.

Waldo nodded in sympathy. "It's kinda hard being _the other Dustin_," he said, "the one who's not 'the guest of honor.'"

Cam looked over at Dustin and Tobi. "It's hard to compete with them," he said somberly, "but they look happy."

Waldo looked from Cam to the others. "Yeah, they do." He sighed. "Maybe parties aren't my thing either. I'm more comfortable in front of a computer."

"Where everything's in your control," Cam agreed, "and it's just you and whatever you're working on."

"Yeah," Waldo agreed. "Even the most complex artificial intelligence system is still way simpler than people."

Cam chuckled softly. "True," he agreed. "But I've learned there's a time for being with a computer and there's a time for being with… friends."

Waldo looked at Cam, surprised. "You're right."

Just then, Hunter walked over to the two holding some snacks. "Here," he offered Waldo a chocolate treat. "I know the other Dustin loves chocolate but I wasn't sure about you, not knowing you that well and all." He grinned as he said this.

"Thanks, dud—Hunter," Waldo said, taking the treats.

"You know, you can call me dude," Hunter reminded him.

"Yeah," Waldo mumbled, taking a bite.

"And I know you'd rather have some healthy snack," Hunter addressed Cam, "so I brought some green apple slices and peanut butter."

"That's…" Cam whispered, taking the snacks. "Thank you." He stood and glanced between Hunter and Waldo, taking a bite. "Very tasty."

"That's the spirit, dude," Waldo grinned. "I mean, let's go," he corrected, looking at Hunter, who was smiling at him.

As the three approached the others, Dustin and Tobi each eat a treat at the same time and moaned loudly. "Mmm," Dustin breathed.

"Wow," Tobi gasped. "That was like…"

"Yeah," Dustin agreed. "When we ate at the same time it was like super intense and…" As his voice trailed off, both their gazes going to the grocery bag. They then looked back at each other, breathing heavily.

Dustin launched himself into Tobi, licking the blonde's lips and nearly knocking him over.

"Okay, okay, you can use my room!" Hunter declared, throwing his arms in the air.

"You sure, dude?" Dustin asked, pulling away.

"You need to get this out of your systems," Hunter shrugged.

"Thanks, dude!" Tobi yelled as Dustin dragged him over to the bag, grabbed it and the two ran into Hunter's room, closing the door behind them.

Waldo stared at Hunter, surprised.

Hunter shrugged. "I want them to be happy."

"Right," Waldo mumbled, unable to keep from looking intensely at the closed door to Hunter's room.

"I for one am happy for my little brother," Tobi's sister commented.

"What are they gonna do in there?" Geo asked.

Hippy Marah looked at Hunter. "Are they going to…"

"Make rainbows?" hippy Kapri asked.

Hunter blinked at them.

"You know what we mean," Marah insisted.

Hunter nodded.

"I wanna see them make rainbows!" Geo declared.

"I didn't know humans can make rainbows," Skyla said. "Can we make rainbows?" she asked Shane.

Shane's face went red. "We, uh…"

"I think, in their case, it's called making babies," Tobi's sister commented before Tori jabbed her in the side with an elbow.

"Why don't we play a game while Marah and Kapri check on their ice cream," Blake suggested.

"Game?" Shane asked lamely. "Oh! I call Mario!" he shouted, running around Hunter.

"Bowser then!" Hunter declared, joining him.

"Bowser reminds me of uncle," space ninja Marah commented to herself.

"More like Zurgane," space ninja Kapri argued.

"You two up for a game?" the other dimension's Shane asked the sisters.

"Is it a fun game?" Marah asked.

"Yeah," the other dimension's Blake said, exchanging a look with his dimension's Shane. "Spin the bottle."

"I'm all over that!" their dimension's Cam immediately volunteered.

"Come on, Kanoi, this sounds fun," Cam's mother told her husband.

"Hey, Tori, wanna join us?" the other dimension's Blake asked Tobi's sister.

"Me?" she asked, surprised.

"Look, I know you probably want an explanation," he said, "and I'm feeling like a nice guy."

"Shocking change," she said.

"I know!" he agreed. "So, anyway, I met Leanne before you and I… I liked her a lot. And you… you were a slut. So, there's your explanation."

She glared at him. "As articulate as ever, Blake."

He shrugged. "I know. I am an all around great guy and I'm willing to give you a second chance."

"We never had a first chance," she pointed out.

"Details, details," he scolded. "Just join us."

"Oh, alright," she reluctantly agreed.

This dimension's Blake noticed Tori smiling at the scene. "They look like they're meant to be together," he commented.

She looked over at him. "I don't know," she argued. "I was just thinking she's only… Oh," she realized, noticing the intensity in his eyes. "Because they look like us and we're meant to be together."

"Too subtle?" he asked.

"Blake, you don't do subtle," she said, smiling. "It's all or nothing for you."

Blake ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I noticed."

Cam stepped backward, walking into Waldo. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"You okay?" Waldo asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Cam said, looking between the two Toris. "It's just a little crowded in here. I think I need some air." He forced a smile.

Waldo gave him a curious look. "You sure you're okay?"

"I will be," Cam promised, turning toward the door.

"Hey, Waldo, come join us," Hunter called, throwing the brunette a controller.

"Hoping a fourth player on the track will finally let you beat me?" Shane taunted.

Hunter rolled his eyes as Waldo walked over.

Across the room, space ninja Kapri could be heard protesting, "You cheated!"

"I did not!" the other dimension's Shane argued.

"Because it's normally this windy _indoors_," she said sarcastically.

"Maybe it is," he suggested, leaning forward. He had spun the bottle and a sudden blast of air caused it to face Kapri.

"I'd rather kiss a troll than you," she growled. "Probably brushes more often too."

"And I'd rather kiss a witch than a bitch," he replied, "but we're stuck here in this apartment with no trolls or witches, so pucker up."

"Fine!" she snapped, leaning forward and biting him on the lip. He promptly bit her back.

"Okay, okay, my turn," the other dimension's Hunter said, laughing. Spinning the bottle, it came to a stop facing his brother. The two stared at each other, remembering what this dimension's versions of themselves had done, and shook their heads. Then Hunter aimed his hand at the bottle and a spark set it tumbling to face their dimension's Cam. He started to point toward the bottle again.

"Gotta go with what the bottle says," his dimension's Cam said. "Them's the rules."

Hunter shrugged, leaning forward and kissing Cam on the lips.

"It looks like tonight's going to be full of surprises," Tobi's sister commented, eying the two as they continued to kiss.

"So, I guess it's my turn," this dimension's Blake said, grinning at her. He spun the bottle and it twirled around and around until it stopped facing grumpy Sensei. Blake stared at the guinea pig who stared back at him, his beady eyes narrowing.

Suddenly a small fireball hit the bottle, spinning it further until it faced space ninja Marah.

"Aw," Cam's mother whined. "And I was so looking forward to that kiss, Kanoi," she whispered to her husband.

Blake looked from Tobi's sister to Marah and shrugged. He then leaned forward to kiss Marah.

"Kapri, he's gonna kiss me," she said quickly, tapping her sister's shoulder. "Do I have anything in my teeth?"

"Just three day old dead rodent," Kapri replied. "Go for it."

Marah and Blake kissed softly at first before Marah grabbed Blake, knocking him over and causing their kiss to break.

Blake sat back up, grinning. "Your turn," he told Tobi's sister.

She frowned at him before giving the bottle a halfhearted spin. When it stopped, it was facing grumpy Sensei again. She blinked at him and a small smile curled up on his tiny guinea pig mouth. "You know, this is a stupid game," she said, standing. "Have fun." She patted her dimension's Blake's shoulder and walked off. "Where's Cam—this dimension's Cam?" she asked.

"He went outside," Waldo told her, glancing up from the screen, where he was racing against Shane, Hunter and Blake.

"So, you think my brother and Dustin are done yet?" she asked, glancing back at the door to Hunter's room. But, listening, she heard cries of "Oh TZT!" and "Oh Dustin!"

"Obviously not," Hunter commented while Shane and Blake cringed.

"I win again!" Shane suddenly shouted, throwing down his controller and rubbing a finger in Hunter's face.

"Rematch!" Hunter demanded.

"Don't be a sore loser, bro," Blake chuckled while Shane grabbed Skyla to do a victory dance with her. But, as he tried to do so, he noticed that she looked frozen.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked her, concerned.

She blinked for a moment before answering. "It's Cam," she whispered. "He's in trouble."

* * *

"That was awesome," Dustin breathed, laying naked on Hunter's bed next to Tobi.

"Yeah, I think my brain almost exploded from pleasure overload," Tobi added.

"I know," Dustin agreed, trailing his hands across Tobi's bare body.

Earlier, the two had entered Hunter's room, threw their clothes off and proceeded to lick toppings off each other's bare bodies. After sharing various sensations, they both agreed they were ready to go all the way. Even though it hurt at first when Dustin entered Tobi, the pain was brief and something they both shared. Then pleasure overrode everything else, bringing Dustin to a very early climax, which resulted in it being Tobi's turn to enter Dustin. They continued their back and forth for a while until, which the help of their healing powers, they lasted longer. But, now they were content to just cuddle. After loosing their virginity to each other in multiple sex positions, cuddling next to their lover felt wonderful.

"This was the room where you told Hunter you chose him," Tobi whispered while lazily trailing a hand over Dustin's muscular tanned chest.

Dustin turned over, staring Tobi in the eyes, his deep brown eyes intense.

Tobi reached up, ruffling the brunette's wavy hair. "Don't worry, I know," he said softly, kissing him.

Dustin blinked at the blonde, his eyes moist and shiny.

"I love you too," Tobi agreed, sighing. "I guess we should get back out there," he added, gesturing toward the door.

"Yeah, I guess I am the guest of honor," Dustin agreed while nuzzling into Tobi, kissing him.

"I must really be in love because you look like you're glowing," Tobi whispered. "You're all gold."

"You always look like you're glowing to me," Dustin whispered back.

"I know, I 'shine like the sun,'" Tobi agreed, grinning.

"I'm glad we did this," Dustin added.

"I know," Tobi replied. "Me too."

"I love you, TZT," Dustin whispered, kissing him again, softer this time, "way more than words could ever say, so it's pretty awesome I can finally explain it without having to like… explain it." The two laughed. "And, dude," he added quietly, "I always loved you."

Tori ran his hands over Dustin's bare back, pulling their bodies closer and running his tongue over Dustin's bare shoulder. "Your skin's still the color of caramel and it sort of tastes like it too."

"We better like go right now or I won't be able to leave," Dustin said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Tobi nodded, "but we're going to have to get dressed."

"Aw," Dustin pouted.

"You're so adorable," Tobi cooed, kissing him, "but let's share some of that with your friends."

"With _our_ friends," Dustin corrected. "I know like even before I was in you, you started thinking of them as your friends."

"You're right," Tobi agreed, sitting up.

The two redressed and left Hunter's bedroom, but were surprised to find the apartment empty.

"Are they doing the whole surprise party thing where they jump out and scare us?" Dustin asked nervously.

Tobi looked around. "I don't think so," he said slowly.

Then, at the same time, both said, "Something's wrong."

Running for the front door, they opened it to find everyone standing outside the apartment across from Vexacus, Condortron, Shimazu and Choobo.

But none of the rangers were fighting them because, in Vexacus' arms, he held Cam, a sword to his throat.

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_**To be continued...**_

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_**Author's Note:**__ So, yes, action scene and more drama next chapter. The scenes with Vexacus and Shimazu do play a role in the next chapter, so I hope you paid attention. Do you like the relationship parts of this chapter or would you rather see less of that in the future? And, would you want to read an M-Rated version of Dustin and Tobi losing their virginity? This chapter may have seemed to be about Waldo, but Cam played an important role in the background, as we shall see next chapter. Please, please vote in the poll for TZTori's name or suggest something by reviewing!_

_**NEW NEW NEW! AWESOME ALERTt! **__I've added a section toward the top of my profile where you can see my progress on my stories. So, say you're wondering if I'm working on a new chapter of this story or another, you can see how far along I am. Check it out!_


	41. All for One and One for All

**NEW POLL/READER SURVEY! **_**What Gender Are You? **_I'm curious about what my readers are like, so I may ask other questions at other points. I've been told (and seen a lot of evidence to support this) that most FF users are female rather than there being a mix of both. FYI, I am male, but I will not vote in my own poll.

**Last Poll Results:** _**What should TZTori's aka Tobi's sister's nickname be? **_Tied for first: Ri and Lia. Tied for second: Tora and Trista. Tied for third: Fin, Lil, Lynn, Nessie, Tina and Jen. I tried doing a new poll with just the top results, but no one voted, so I'll just pick a name for the next chapter. It'll be a surprise!

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_**AWESOME ALERT! **__I've added a section toward the top of my profile where you can see my progress on my stories. So, say you're wondering if I'm working on a new chapter of this story or another, you can see how far along I am. Check it out! (And, yes, I know I was not updating this, so I fixed that!)  
_

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_**PICS PICS PICS!**__ That's right, you can see all kinds of awesome stuff on my DeviantART account. The link's at the top of my profile. Just click on "Rogue Ranger"!_

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**Author's Notes: **This is the continuation of the events in the last chapter and may read almost like part of that chapter, but this chapter focuses more on the pairing of Cam/TZTori than Hunter/Waldo like in the last chapter. Skyla also plays a starring role. The events of the last chapter are resolved here and there will be some action and drama and, yes, the pairings are finalized. **The rest of my notes are at the end of the story.** So, enjoy!

**~Winner **for the reviewer who came up with this chapter's most creative inspiration goes to… all my reviewers! They all contributed something!

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**Review Comments: **

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for teaching me the secret ingredients to get a better review from you! So, if I had the Bradley brothers making out while Hunter's in a pink ranger costume, that would work? I only thought of Hunter because of Kim's comment in Hurricane Chronicles about Blake's Navy being the equivalent of a Black Ranger and Hunter's Crimson being the equivalent of a Pink Ranger. Well, sadly, there are only hints of bradleycest in here and the pink morpher only makes a small appearance because a lot of other things go on. But I have included one thing toward the end that I think may catch your attention. I guess we'll see…

Thanks **Ghostwriter **for declaring my chapters "Morphinominal"! And that word I actually do know from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I guess it never caught on as a saying outside the show, though. But I'm glad it can apply to a story taking place in the Ninja Storm universe. Though, I've pretty much expanded the Ninja Storm universe, so it can apply. Anyway, thanks and here's another amazing chapter! Or so I hope!

Thanks **Ruon jian **for another idea filled review! I love stealing your ideas! I mean… borrowing them. I hadn't thought of Cam as a the ranger's therapist, but I guess that's what he became. Still, he's more than that and I hope I finally explore that in here. There will be more turmoil in this chapter, but I've also tried to add in plenty of relationship stuff. I just had a lot I wanted to resolve and include. I'll try to do more focus on relationships in the future too. Hunter and Waldo are so good together they deserve their own fic? Awesome! I'll definitely think about that, but in the mean time I hope this story is good enough for now. Well, I think so. I may come up with something when I'm working on a sequel or a spin off story. I wonder, would people want to read spin-offs? And, yayness! You've managed to come up with what Skyla's power is! I've been trying to figure this out for so long and it seems simple yet also suits her. Not only can adapting powers around her work for Zords, but also it can work for land attacks (though I haven't worked out the details yet). Please let me know any more ideas you have! Thank you!

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for saying multiple times how great and awesome the last chapter was! I hope this one lives up to your expectations! After all, you are "addicted" to my story. ;D I'm glad you like all the exploration of Waldo's character. I thought it was necessary because he's an important character who we don't know much about. Also, since he's going to end up with Hunter according to the poll, the two needed some bonding. And I thought you might like the scene with Dustin's mom. Since Tobi had his moment with Tori's parents and her sister, I thought Waldo needed his moment too. And, yes, Cam is a great person and a great friend and I finally decided to give him some of the credit he's deserved. After all, he's been there for the rangers and especially Tobi throughout the entire story. So, don't worry, Cam will be okay… I hope I didn't just spoil anything by saying that, though. And the "soul mates" will find out something about "making rainbows" with each other. So, again thanks for all the praise and here's some more of the epic Parallel Realities Ninja Storm…

Thanks **megsjedi** for the applause! I think that's the first time I've received applause in a review! And thank you again for letting me use your idea from Kiss Me Deadly! I know I didn't end up making their connection work the way I originally came up with when I told you about it, but I think this way works a lot better. Plus, I came up with even more that can result from such a connection, so stay tuned for that in this chapter. I'm glad you're happy with the happy couple too! I noticed that you're really churning out chapters for your wrestling story. I just haven't read it because I'm not into wrestling (or any sports really—is wresting a sport?). I know, a gay guy not into wrestling? What's wrong with me? Feel free to slap some sense into me! And, finally, thank you for saying that not just my story but that I myself am awesome! Yay!

Thanks **FinalJudgement **for once again making me feel like my awesomeness comes naturally! It actually takes a lot of work! But at least I know I'm special! ;D I loved your descriptions of your Psychics' powers and how they're balanced out (so that each one has a part of what is considered psychic). It actually gave me an interesting idea for the pink morpher that Shimazu picked up in the last chapter. What if it's from Psychic rangers? Okay, so, yes, technically that would be stealing your idea, but Skyla is psychic, so she could get it and… Well, it's just an idea! There could be a whole backstory. Now as for your story (that I'm not stealing, so don't go ninja on me!) it has so many interesting elements that it would be really exciting to read. Also, I like that you have one hetero relationship, one gay and then Darcey actually flirts with one of the bad guys. Has that ever been done before where a female Power Ranger flirts with a villain. I know that it's been done where the male Power Rangers fall for the evil girls and their evil charms (well, I assume their charms are evil too!). It's about time that the girls had their moment. It also has a lot of potential for humor! Now, back to my story, I hadn't noticed that Cam kept ending up in trouble. I did notice that he's played such a key role throughout the story and hasn't really had his moment to shine. So, I tried to change that. Thanks for the kick in the right direction. I'll try to watch out for poor Cam (though, I could have just made it that the bad guys are attracted to him after all…). And, yes, I have a bunch of ideas for the sequel all planned out. But, of course, I have to finish this story first. Basically, I wouldn't follow strictly to the end of Ninja Storm or to the Dino Thunder teamup because I want more interactions between the two teams than just that one moment. And, yes, all the dinos will have their moment. I'm actually thinking about using the relationship that megsjedi set up in her story Kiss Me Deadly for the sequel. It's Conner and an OC. If you have read that story, what do you think about that idea?

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Cam and Waldo use Lothor's PAM to set up a field around the planet Earth that keeps anyone from transporting to the planet. So Vexacus, Shimazu and Condortron travel down to Earth in Vexacus' ship to get the Gem of Souls, find Choobo and Lothor's nieces, and stop the field. While Vexacus is retrieving the gem shards from the ocean, Shimazu steals the pink gem and morpher from Vexacus' ship. Meanwhile, Dustin and Tobi ask Waldo to go to Dustin's house to get clothes and games and Waldo meets Dustin's mother and sister and finds himself overcome by Dustin's memories to the point that he doesn't feel like he knows who he is. Cam suggests that Waldo talk to Hunter, but Waldo thinks it's Dustin's feelings that make him care about Hunter, so he leaves for his "brooding spot." Hunter calls Cam to find Waldo and the two talk while Waldo finishes sewing Dustin's Awesome Dude costume. Hunter and Waldo kiss and decide to find out who Waldo is together. Vexacus, Shimazu, Choobo and Condortron see this and follow them to Hunter and Blake's apartment where there's a party. During the party, when Dustin and Tobi get too far apart, they become dizzy. The group bonds but Cam sees the two Toris with the two Blakes and leaves. After Dustin and Tobi lose their virginity to each other in Hunter's bedroom, they come out to discover that the other rangers are outside and that Vexacus has Cam prisoner...**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 41 (All for One and One for All)**

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Dustin and Tobi tightened their grip on each other's hands as they saw the blade against Cam's throat. Even without their connection, they'd both be thinking the same thing, which was how to get their friend from Vexacus safely.

"It's the gold ranger," Shimazu announced, cowering behind Choobo.

"Come no closer," Vexacus warned. "Give me the Gem of Souls and your green friend here lives. Try to stop me and his head will be rolling across the ground before your attack even reaches me." He pushed his sword just far enough to draw a single drop of blood from Cam's neck.

"Cam, where's the gem?" Shane asked.

"Don't give it to him," Cam argued, grunting against Vexacus. "I'm not worth it."

"What?" Tori snapped. "Cam, how can you say that?"

"Yeah, you're definitely worth it, man," Hunter added.

Tobi looked from Cam to the two Toris and realized something. "Coming back to Hunter and Blake's place reminded you of last time," he said, thinking. "And," he gestured toward Tori, who was standing next to Blake, "seeing that things haven't changed made you feel the way you felt that morning all over again." He took a breath, looking to Dustin for support. "It was a hard morning for us both, but things have changed and not just for me. We know you're not a grump. You're our friend. Dustin may be my boyfriend, by you're my best friend."

Cam smiled weakly, glancing at Waldo and remembering what he had said about Cam rather than Waldo being Tobi's best friend.

"Cameron is correct," Sensei interrupted. "The gem must remain safely hidden away or the consequences will be disastrous."

Dustin looked at the guinea pig like he was crazy. "But they're gonna kill Cam!" he shouted.

"I am aware of this, Dustin," Sensei replied, "but many more lives would be at stake."

"Sensei?" the other dimension's Shane asked grumpy Sensei.

"Boring me is right," grumpy Sensei reluctantly admitted.

"More right than they're ready to know," Cam's mother muttered.

"We can't just give up on our cousin," hippy Kapri insisted.

"Tobi, if we rush him, can you heal Cam?" Shane asked quickly.

"I've never tried to put a head on someone before," he admitted nervously.

"And my brother's not going to find out," Tobi's sister growled. "We give him the gem, consequences be damned." She looked back up at Cam, unaware that both Blakes were watching her.

"And we'd need the gem anyway if Cam dies," Hunter pointed out.

"I am sorry, rangers," Sensei said slowly. "That is not an option."

"Don't you even care about your own son?" Tobi's sister snapped. "Fine, let Cam go and take me instead," she volunteered, stepping forward.

"Obviously you are of much less importance to the rangers than their precious _Cam_," Vexacus scoffed.

"It's true none of us can match Cam's compassion and understanding," she agreed, "least of all me, but we… love him."

Cam gave her a surprised look.

"She's right," Tori added, approaching her counterpart. "We love you, Cam. And… you can take me too."

"Yeah, man, we love you," Shane agreed. "Take me instead."

"We all love you, Dude," Dustin and Tobi declared. "Let Cam go and take us instead."

Cam blinked, looking between them. "Thank you guys, but my father's right. I'm not worth risking everyone else's lives over."

Tobi's sister shook her head. "Always the logical one, Cam," she said somberly, "but it's not real friendship if you're not willing to give everything up for… a friend."

Tobi looked from his sister to Sensei and then back to Cam. "Your dad does love you," he insisted. "He's just a little caught up with destiny and the fate of the world to be as… irrational as us."

Sensei looked from Tobi to his son, hopping up onto Tobi's shoulder. "I love you son. I should say that more often." He looked around at the others before looking back at Cam. There was a long moment of silence before he continued, "And I will give up the gem for you, regardless of the consequences."

"Seriously?" Cam's mother asked.

Sensei nodded.

"Were we looking at the same scroll?" grumpy Sensei asked.

Cam smiled weakly, his eyes moist. "Dad…" he whispered.

"Victory is at hand," Vexacus declared under his breath before announcing, "And, while you're at it, turn off that field you have around the planet."

Cam grumbled something to himself.

"What happens if they get the Gem of Souls?" Tobi asked Sensei on his shoulder.

"Destinies can be rewritten," Sensei whispered. "After we save my son, we will change what is foretold."

Tobi looked at Sensei, surprised.

"The end of the world," grumpy Sensei commented.

"Guys," Cam whispered, looking from his father to the others.

"Our plan is actually working," Shimazu whispered to Vexacus.

"Of course _my_ plan is succeeding," Vexacus declared.

"Tobi," Skyla called, approaching the blonde. "There's another way."

"Not one that won't risk Cam's life," Tobi replied. "I almost killed him myself before. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"You don't have to even move toward Vexacus to stop him," she continued.

He looked at her for a moment before realizing what she meant and he then looked to Dustin. There was an unspoken conversation between the two and then an unspoken agreement. He turned back to Vexacus and Cam, concentrating. "You won't get anything," he warned, but if you let Cam go, I'll let you live."

"Yeah, don't play his game," the other dimension's Shane said.

Vexacus laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Before you can make a move, I will have severed Cam's head from his body. Even you cannot heal that."

"I probably could," Tobi commented, "but I won't have to."

"Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson," Vexacus snapped, suddenly pushing his sword against Cam's throat. But, as he did so, the blade dissolved into ash, flaking off against Cam's skin and blowing from Vexacus' hand.

Immediately, Dustin streaked to grab Cam. In a blur, Cam found himself in Dustin's arms, the two Toris rushing to him as the others protectively surrounded their friend.

Shane nodded to the others and all of this dimension's Power Rangers morphed in unison, including Cam. "Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"

"The rest of you, get behind us," Shane called, gesturing to the unmorphed rangers and allies.

But, even though he was now facing a wall of morphed Power Rangers, Vexacus did something none of them expected. He started to laugh. "Now, Choobo."

"Now what?" Choobo asked. Shimazu tapped the alien's back and he went "Oh!" before leaning forward.

Suddenly the compartment on Choobo's back burst open and two long green vines with hands on their ends shot out, grabbing the other dimension's Hunter and Blake. They were then pulled into the compartment before they shot back out again to grab two more victims.

The vines were moving too fast for Tobi to concentrate on, so all he could do was send a wave of energy out from his body, but he only succeeded in diverting the vine that had been heading for him. He had to send out another wave toward the vine as it approached Dustin. Dustin gave him a silent "thank you" before trying to help the others.

"Geo, run!" hippy Marah called, but it was too late. The boy, still holding Destiny, was grabbed by one of the vines and pulled inside.

Shane drew his sword, trying to slash at the vines, but it seemed to have no effect. "Get back inside," he told Skyla as she dodged a vine only to see Shane grabbed by another.

"Cam!" Tobi's sister called just as the green samurai ranger was also captured by a vine and pulled into Choobo's compartment.

When both Hunter and Waldo went to push each other away from incoming vines, they both ended up being captured by a single vine's grip.

As another vine grabbed Cam's mom, the two Senseis used their small bodies to their advantage, hopping out of the way. But, in the end, even they were captured along with the other dimension's rangers, all of who ended up being sucked into the compartment on Choobo's back.

Tobi gasped, feeling the vine grab Dustin before he saw it. By the time he turned around, Dustin had already been pulled into the compartment. And, when he looked around, he only saw Skyla still standing by his side. He also saw both the hippy and space ninja versions of Marah and Kapri. Everyone else was gone and, as the compartment on Choobo's back closed, Tobi fell to the ground.

"Don't worry," Vexacus said conversationally. "Just as I prepared for losing my hostage, I prepared for Choobo's little trick not working on you." He glanced at Skyla. "You I did not anticipate. And, Choobo, why are there two pairs of Lothor's nieces?"

"I don't know," Choobo shrugged.

"Clearly two of them are from the other dimension," Shimazu suggested.

"And it's pretty obvious which two," Vexacus replied, looking the girls over.

"Really?" Choobo asked. "Which two?"

Vexacus groaned. "Condortron," he called.

Instantly, the mechanical bird flew toward hippy Marah and Kapri, but Skyla knocked both aside just before it struck them.

"I expected more of a fight from you," Vexacus said, standing over Tobi while Skyla anticipated Condortron's attacks. "Last time, you proved quite a challenge, gold ranger." Then he heard a whimpering sound and realized that Tobi was crying as he lay on the ground. He couldn't help but laugh at this. "I had no idea it was that easy to break you. What finally did it?" he asked curiously.

"I can't feel Dustin," Tobi chocked out.

Skyla knocked hippy Marah and Kapri to the ground next to Tobi just as Condortron appeared, hovering where they had been standing. "Tobi, he'll be okay," she called, rolling the girls aside as a sharp wing cut through the ground.

"Yeah, Tobi, get up," hippy Marah encouraged.

Tobi tried to lift his body, but he was too dizzy to even raise his head. It was more than a mental loss. He felt such a strong physical loss that he felt nauseous. Why wasn't the Sun Amulet healing him? "Give him back," he called feebly.

"He can sense the other rangers," Shimazu whispered to Vexacus.

"Just one, it seems," Vexacus said, reaching down and easily lifting Tobi's morphed body with one hand. "Not so powerful," he gloated. "Are you finally ready to give me what I am here for?"

"W-what's t-that?" Tobi whispered, unable to lift his head to meet Vexacus' gaze.

"The Gem of Souls," Vexacus replied. "Sound familiar?"

"But I don't know where it is," Tobi said weakly.

"I'm sure you can find it," Vexacus continued.

"He can't even stand," Shimazu pointed out.

Vexacus thought for a moment before calling for space ninja Marah and Kapri. "Girls, help the gold ranger retrieve the Gem of Souls."

The girls exchanged looks before nodding and carrying Tobi away from the aliens and back toward Ninja Ops, a once secret place that they now knew the location of.

"What about us?" hippy Kapri asked.

"Condortron will keep you busy," Vexacus mused with a chuckle.

"We should have stayed in their clothes," hippy Marah commented while Skyla helped them dodge Condortron.

"I know," hippy Kapri agreed, "but the colors were kinda bland."

Skyla narrowed her eyes, concentrating. Then, she forced her weight into a swing just as Condortron appeared and she made contact. But her blow did little to affect the mechanical bird.

"We make a good team," Shimazu commented, clapping his hands. He hadn't even had to stand between Vexacus and the gold ranger after all.

"Choobo and Condortron did their parts," Vexacus replied. "What did you do?"

"I came up with using Choobo in the first place," Shimazu argued.

"That's not how I remember it," Vexacus laughed.

Shimazu grumbled under his breath. "It was never like this when I had the Wolfblades."

Vexacus patted the alien's back. "You'll get your chance, clown face."

* * *

Space ninja Marah and Kapri used Tobi to get them back into Ninja Ops. "He's so heavy," Marah complained.

"What are you talking about?" Kapri snapped. "_I'm_ doing all the work!"

"Are not!" Marah protested.

"Shut up," Kapri warned. "Now how do we find the gem?"

"What's going on, Tobi?" Circuit asked, flying over to them.

"It's okay, Circuit," Tobi said weakly before answering Kapri. "I can sense the gem." Though, in his current state, it was hard to concentrate on words, let alone sense the life force of the Gem of Souls. "Press the larger red button on my morpher," he told the girls.

"What will it do?" Kapri asked cautiously.

"Just do it," Tobi whispered.

Kapri pressed the button and Tobi's body demorphed. He was covered in sweat and was pale. "Oh, can I try?" Marah asked, reaching for the morpher, but Kapri slapped her hand away. "Hey!"

"I thought we could trust you two," Tobi commented while motioning for them to set him in Cam's chair, Circuit hovering over them.

"You can," Marah replied. "You can trust us to betray you."

Kapri couldn't help but laugh at this, though she didn't want to admit it was a clever comeback.

"The way you betrayed Dustin?" Tobi asked.

Marah frowned.

"Don't tell me you're _still_ not over him," Kapri groaned.

"Lothor told Zurgane to kill him," Marah said quietly.

"And he did kill Dustin," Tobi replied coldly.

"But you somehow like _made_ him a body," Marah said, amazed.

"That was sorta impressive," Kapri admitted.

"Sorta?" Marah asked. "He _so_ deserves Dustin after all."

Kapri stared at her sister. "What happened to the spoiled brat I grew up with?"

"Hey! I'm not a spoiled brat!" she argued. "As long as I get that other Blake, he can have Dustin."

"Like you'd get Dustin anyway," Kapri commented. "The only reason you like that Blake is because he likes you and that _never_ happens."

"Does so!" Marah argued. "Dustin _did_ like me."

"You wish!" Kapri shot back.

"He did like you," Tobi said quietly. "That's why it hurt when you used him to help Lothor. Was it worth it?"

Marah grimaced, thinking about the months spent on Lothor's ship since that time that she used Beevil to trick the yellow ranger. She had cried for weeks and still didn't feel over that. "I don't wanna keep doing this," she whined.

"What are you talking about?" Kapri asked.

"Why do we have to keep fighting the rangers when they treat us so nice and uncle and Vexacus are so mean?" Marah wondered.

"This is why _I_ do all the thinking," Kapri replied.

"But I like the rangers," Marah continued to whine.

"We're evil space ninjas," Kapri explained. "We don't even like each other."

Marah pouted. "So you don't like the other Shane then?" she asked.

Kapri glared at her sister. "I hate his guts," she growled.

"Sounds like love to me!" Marah declared.

Kapri groaned.

Although it was extremely difficult to focus, Tobi had managed to sense the Gem of Souls. "It's in a cabinet in Cam's room, just through there." Rather than point, he moved his head a centimeter.

The two girls immediately stopped their bickering and left the main room of Ninja Ops.

"Tobi, where are Cam and Waldo?" Circuit asked.

"They're in trouble," he replied. "I'm just trying to help them."

"But it doesn't sound like you can trust Kapri and Marah," Circuit pointed out.

"I don't have a choice," Tobi said, panting.

"What's wrong?" Circuit asked. "Are you sick?"

"I don't know," Tobi mumbled. "I can't feel Dustin anymore. I don't know if that's what's doing this."

"I'll run some tests," Circuit volunteered.

"Thanks," Tobi replied, closing his eyes and resting for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, Marah and Kapri were entering the room, holding a small sack.

"You could have told us the pieces were in this bag," Kapri complained.

"Let's just go," Tobi said, trying to get up.

"We have what we came here for, why do we need you?" Kapri asked.

"Yeah, like rest up," Marah said, following Kapri out of Ninja Ops.

"Should I stop them?" Circuit asked Tobi.

"No, just find a way to fix whatever's wrong with me," he replied. "I need to save everyone."

"I'm running a scan now," Circuit said, pulling up images of Tobi's body on Cam's screen.

"I just wish I could feel Dustin," Tobi whispered. "I don't even know if he's okay…" He couldn't help but cry as he said this.

* * *

"Where are we?" Tori asked, opening her visor and looking around as the others did the same. Both dimension's rangers were in a dark empty place with a moonlit horizon.

"We're inside Choobo," Blake answered, looking around.

"Yeah, we've been here before," Hunter added. "This is his realm. He has all the powers here."

"Then it's up to Tobi to get us out of here," Shane said, looking around to notice the missing gold ranger. That was when he also noticed that Dustin was lying on the dark ground.

"What's wrong with him?" Waldo asked, turning his morphed counterpart over.

Cam knelt over Dustin, pressing a button to demorph him. As he did so, the others gasped. Dustin was covered in sweat, pale and had his eyes closed. "Dustin, can you hear me?" Cam asked.

"He's unconscious," Waldo noticed. "And his pulse is weak."

"What caused this?" Tobi's sister asked. "He sounds like he's breathing through a tube."

"Maybe it has to do with the connection he has to Tobi," Hunter suggested.

"So now they can never be apart?" Tori asked.

Hunter shrugged, kneeling over Dustin. "I'm just guessing. I don't know."

"But Cam would know," Tobi's sister said, turning to the samurai.

Cam stared at her for a moment before speaking up. "I think Hunter's right," he said. "If we don't get him out of here or get Tobi in here with him, I'm afraid…"

"Afraid what?" Tori asked.

"That he'll die," Waldo realized and Cam reluctantly nodded.

"Was trying to save me really worth this?" Cam asked slowly.

"We don't have any regrets," Shane said firmly. "We're all glad you're here for us." He smiled. "And that you put up with us."

Cam offered him a grin in return.

"Cam, now's not the time for a pity party," Tobi's sister warned. "We're going to get out of here, all of us."

"My sister's right," Tori agreed, turning to the thunder brothers. "If Tobi has Dustin's memories, he'll know how we got you guys out of here before."

"Unless Tobi's in the same shape as your Dustin is," the other dimension's Blake commented.

The others exchanged worried looks while Sensei hopped over to check on Dustin.

"I may be able to reach his subconscious mind," Sensei suggested. "If it is his connection to Tobi that is responsible, I may be able to sever it."

"Dad, be careful," Cam warned.

"I know, son," the guinea pig replied. "And, Cameron, you are worth whatever challenges we face."

"Even the end of the world?" Cam asked, gesturing toward grumpy Sensei, who was sitting atop his wife's shoulder.

Sensei twitched his nose, simply saying, "Nothing is certain but the love we feel for you. Now, I must concentrate."

The others moved back, giving Sensei space as he meditated over Dustin.

Cam stood, staring down at his unconscious friend while Tobi's sister patted his arm. "I've noticed you have that look on your face a lot," she commented. When Cam gave her a confused look, she explained. "That look that says you care so much about others that it's like it actually hurts you. Even when you're happy for your friends because they're in love, it still hurts. Maybe it's because you thought no one cared about you the way you do about them." She grinned. "I bet you were shocked to find out how much people care back."

Cam studied her for a moment before admitting, "I was surprised."

"People care about you," she said, shaking her head. "_So_ shocking. Cam, you've got a big heart and you're smart. You're everything girls look for in guys and everything I'm missing."

"You were willing to trade yourself for me," Cam reminded her. "You think you don't care, but you do."

She thought about this. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "Well, of course you're right, brainiac." She laughed lightly. "I know I care about my brother, though I'm not the only one worried about him," she added, gesturing toward Waldo. "Braniac Dustin—Waldo always liked to keep so many secrets. When we were kids, I'd see him staring off into space and I'd sneak up behind him and ask what he was scheming. Most of the time, he'd never tell me. It must be hard knowing two people know all those secrets he kept."

Cam nodded before asking, "Are you keeping any secrets?"

She grinned. "My life's an open book, Cam," she replied. "I'm now secrets free and I love it. How about you?"

Cam shrugged. "I guess my only secret isn't a secret."

"That you're a sappy romantic at heart?" she joked.

He glared at her.

"Oh, come on, you're practically one," she accused. "How many girlfriends—or boyfriends have you had?"

Cam frowned. "None, actually."

"None?" she repeated, shocked. "But you're such a stud. I mean, not as good looking as Blake, but you care a whole lot more and you're _way_ smarter than this dimension's Blake. He may be fiiine, but he's a moron. A moron who's got the other me, though."

He raised an eyebrow toward her. "I didn't always know how to express myself well. I was… rude."

"And that changed?" she asked.

He once again glared at her. "Yes, it has."

"So, what broke through your cold exterior?" she asked, grinning.

He sighed, looking around. "My friends."

* * *

Skyla was out of breath and exhausted as she tried to both fight off and dodge Condortron. The mechanical bird never tired, but, since she was human, she did. Just then, space ninja Marah and Kapri approached Vexacus and the other aliens.

"Do you have the gem?" Vexacus asked.

Kapri held up the sack that contained the Gem of Souls. "Right here."

"Where's the gold ranger?" Shimazu asked, looking around.

"We left him back at their secret headquarters," Kapri replied.

"He couldn't even move," Marah added.

As exhaustion began to overwhelm Skyla, she was knocked to the ground by Condortron. "It's the separation," she chocked, pulling herself to her feet again. "Tobi and Dustin's spirits are linked, but keeping them apart is killing them."

"Killing?" hippy Marah repeated.

"They'll both die if they're not reunited soon," Skyla continued, grunting as she managed to trip Condortron.

"Just give me the rest of the gem," Vexacus told space ninja Kapri.

Space ninja Kapri looked to Skyla and then back to Vexacus. "Let the rangers go first."

"Yeah," space ninja Marah agreed.

Vexacus just laughed. "I have no intention of releasing the rangers," he told them. "I never did."

"But they'll die," space ninja Marah pointed out.

"Then they'll be together forever," Vexacus gloated. "Consider it a tragic yet poetic ending to their romance." He laughed at this.

"But Dustin and Tobi…" hippy Marah whispered.

Space ninja Kapri looked down at the sack in her hands.

"That's why I don't wanna do this anymore," space ninja Marah told her sister.

Vexacus raised his arm, pointing a finger toward them. "Give me the gem now," he said in an ominous tone. "Your uncle would be upset if I was forced to destroy you." He grinned underneath his helmet.

Space ninja Kapri tightened her grip on the sack. "Not until you release the rangers."

Vexacus lowered his hand, turning to Choobo before suddenly turning back to the sisters and raising his hand again, a blast of yellow energy shooting toward them. But, before it could reach the two, Skyla had knocked them aside.

Space ninja Kapri pushed Skyla off her and stood up quickly. But then she paused, looking between her sister, Skyla and Vexacus.

"This is your last chance," Vexacus warned.

"They'd never save us," space ninja Marah pointed out.

"I know," space ninja Kapri grumbled, glaring at Vexacus. "We've tried to destroy the rangers many times, but they still risk their lives for us every chance they get and you keep trying to destroy _us_."

"Yeah, we're like _so_ over being evil!" space ninja Marah agreed.

Space ninja Kapri stared at her sister. "We're just over helping uncle and his stupid aliens."

"Yeah, that too," space ninja Marah replied.

"Suit yourself," Vexacus said, shrugging as he raised his arm.

But, this time space ninja Marah and Kapri were prepared and Marah shot fire toward the alien while Kapri shot ice, the two blending into a blast of steam that sent the alien flying backward.

Hippy Marah and Kapri quickly joined their space ninja counterparts while Condortron flew over to Vexacus.

"Aim for the straps on Choobo's chest," a faint voice called out. The others turned to see Tobi literally being dragged by a rope attached to Circuit.

Condortron appeared near Tobi and Circuit, slicing the rope with its wing and sending Tobi crashing to the ground, where he finally fell unconscious.

Space ninja Marah and Kapri looked from Tobi to Choobo.

"If you hurt Choobo, you'll only be hurting your friends," Shimazu said quickly while scurrying away from Choobo.

"Don't do it!" hippy Marah and Kapri immediately shouted.

"He's lying," space ninja Kapri assured them.

"Are you sure?" hippy Kapri asked, concerned.

"You'll have to like trust us," space ninja Marah replied.

Hippy Marah looked to Skyla. "They're telling the truth," Skyla said.

Shrugging, hippy Marah and Kapri joined space ninja Marah and Kapri in aiming at Choobo.

"Wait!" Choobo shouted. "Don't! Remember all the fun times we had?"

"Like when you made us clean up after the kelzaks that aren't potty trained yet?" space ninja Kapri asked.

"Ew!" space ninja Marah complained.

And then, together the two versions of Marah and Kapri blasted Choobo, the energy sending the alien flying backward. Sparks erupted on his chest until the compartment on his back opened and everyone who had been trapped inside appeared beside the alien.

The rangers looked around, assessing their surroundings before noticing Tobi on the ground. "Quick, get them together," Waldo called, helping Hunter carry Dustin over next to Tobi.

"His pulse has stopped," Hunter said, feeling Dustin's arm as he set him down.

"My scans showed that Tobi's energy is flowing out of him, probably trying to find Dustin," Circuit explained. "The same is probably happening to Dustin."

"Why?" Tori asked.

"I don't know," Circuit replied.

"Take care of Dustin," Shane said as he ran to check on Skyla. "The rest of us will keep fish face busy."

"I need my medical kit," Cam said quickly.

"We have the gem," space ninja Marah volunteered.

Cam looked at her, surprised.

Space ninja Kapri looked between the sack containing the gem shards and Dustin and Tobi before reluctantly handing it to Cam.

"Move over," Tobi's sister snapped, shoving everyone away from Dustin while Cam knelt over him with the gem.

"You could ask them," Cam whispered to her.

She shrugged. "Sorry, Cam. Not everyone's as nice as you. Just save them."

Cam nodded before placing the gem fragments on Dustin's chest. "Check Tobi's pulse," he told her.

She knelt, checking her brother's pulse. "He's alive," she said with a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile the others combined their forces to attack the aliens, who quickly found themselves outnumbered. The one advantage they had had was Condortron, since Skyla was still the only one of them who could anticipate its attacks.

"Come on," Cam whispered, staring down at the gem. Just then, a light began to glow around the gem. The light surrounded both Dustin and Tobi before a flash sent Cam and Tobi's sister knocked backward and the gem shards flying.

Cam managed to retrieve the pieces before scrambling back to Dustin and Tobi. At that moment, the two opened their eyes and stared at the sky, blinking. Those eyes began to fill with tears.

"Little brother?" Tobi's sister asked slowly.

Both Tobi and Dustin let out a sigh and slowly smiled at the same time before turning over and facing each other. They immediately wrapped their arms around each other and hugged, crying onto each other's shoulders. "I know, dude," Dustin whispered.

"I guess we can never be apart anymore," Tobi whispered back.

"I can live with that," Dustin grinned as he ran a hand through Tobi's straight hair.

"I missed you so much," Tobi said, reaching up to pet Dustin's wavy hair.

Dustin pulled the blonde into a soft kiss on the lips. They both sighed into each other's mouths. "I'm stoked we didn't lose this, TZT," Dustin said, feeling the connection between them.

Tobi just smiled and thought his answer, letting Dustin read his thoughts. But their reunion was interrupted by Waldo being knocked to the ground next to the two.

Tobi and Dustin promptly stood, standing beside each other. Nodding, the two morphed. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

Dustin pulled out his Lion Hammer seemingly from nowhere and Tobi glanced at him, asking what he needed to know. Repeating Dustin's move and pressing a button on his morpher, Tobi pulled out his own weapon. He looked at the gold axe with phoenix wings carved into it in his hands.

"Awesome," Dustin breathed.

Tobi shrugged before joining the other rangers in an assault against the aliens. He swung his Phoenix Axe at Choobo while Dustin used his Lion Hammer against Shimazu.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Shimazu insisted as he was knocked backward. "It was Vexacus' plan."

"So you only want to take credit when we're winning," Vexacus mused as he fought off the Cam, who was in Super Samurai mode and was slashing away at the alien with a fierceness that the others hadn't seen before. The alien shot a beam of energy against Cam, forcing him back, but the green ranger was quick to return to action, this time joined by Tori and Hunter.

"We can't keep doing this," Tobi commented. "This constant battle against Lothor and his aliens trying to kill us has to end, but the only way is to kill them." He began to concentrate on the aliens.

"Tobi, don't," Skyla said, running to the gold ranger.

"It's the only way not to have to go through this again," Tobi insisted. "I'm the only one who can stop this, who can keep everyone safe once and for all." Just then, Condortron slammed into Dustin, forcing him to the ground. Tobi helped Dustin up and growled out, "That's it!" Concentrating on the mechanical bird, he tried to find a life force to destroy. But the mechanical bird was only a machine, so he instead focused on simply burning it. As he did so, ash began to rise from its metal wings.

"Tobi, stop!" Skyla called.

"I'm going to stop it," Tobi replied, focusing harder. But then he felt Dustin's mind reach out to him, overcoming his thoughts in a way that made it impossible for him to destroy the mechanical bird. "Dustin, why are you stopping me?"

"I don't want you to be a killer, TZT," Dustin whispered.

"But it has to stop," Tobi begged, focusing harder and trying to reach into Dustin's mind and change his mind. But, as he did so, he was still trying to focus his energy and ended up focusing Dustin's energy too. The powers of sunlight and earth combined in a flash around Condortron.

An explosion sent everyone flying away from the mechanical bird.

"Tobi?" Skyla asked, looking from Tobi and Dustin back to the clearing smoke.

Standing where Condortron had been was a large bird creature, but it wasn't a machine. It was a alive and had feathered wings and a feathered body. Looking itself over, it crowed and scratched its beak.

"What have you done?" Vexacus snapped.

"They brought it to life," Skyla realized.

"You've turned my creation into some weak living _thing_," Vexacus complained.

"He could have destroyed it, but he didn't," Cam told Vexacus. "He could also destroy you."

"But he won't," hippy Marah added.

"He just might," Cam replied coldly, still staring at Vexacus. He raised his sword to the alien's neck. "If my uncle Lothor wants to fight us, tell him to come down here himself. _If_ he can. But, make sure you warn him that the Earth is protected by more than just a transport inhibiting field." He gestured around at the others. "It's protected by the_ Power Rangers_. Now get out of here."

Vexacus looked around before grumbling, "Fine, I'll leave, but only because I'm weary of this game." Then, turning toward the others, he called, "Back to the ship."

And, as the aliens left with the now living Condortron, the rangers turned to look at Cam.

"What?" he snapped.

"Are you okay, Cam?" Tori asked, concerned.

"I think he's just fine," Tobi's sister assured her twin.

"She's right," Cam replied. "And Tobi wasn't the only one who wanted to end this by destroying them, especially after… everything they've done."

Sensei hopped onto Skyla's shoulder. "But you made the right choice, both of you," he told Cam and Tobi.

"So, dudes, you ready to forget those posers and bust out some mad dancing skills?" Dustin asked, turning to the others while throwing an arm around Tobi.

"I don't know, Dustin," Tori told him. "This has been quite a day."

"Oh, come on, Tor!" he begged. "It's time to celebrate!"

"Oh, alright," she agreed, grinning at her friend.

As the rangers demorphed and headed back inside, Sensei hopped over to land on Tobi's shoulder. "I must have a word with you two first."

"What's up, Sensei?" Dustin asked.

"Perhaps we should have this discussion in private," Sensei suggested.

"We don't have any secrets," Tobi told the guinea pig on his shoulder.

"As you wish," Sensei agreed. "You two should use condoms or learn to pace yourselves the next time you engage in sexual interactions."

Both their faces blushed as Waldo and Hunter paused to stare at them before exchanging looks.

"But I thought we couldn't get diseases or stuff because we're rangers," Tobi pointed out.

"That is not the issue," Sensei corrected. "Your… _fluids_ contain elements of life in them. They combined with both of your elements and, with your spirits intertwined, your powers combined, creating a strong life bond. You were literally sending your powers out of your body to each other. Being apart meant the energy had nowhere to go and you were both drained."

"That's why we were so weakened when we were separated?" Tobi asked.

"And why we got dizzy when you just like walked across the room," Dustin remembered.

"Yeah," Tobi realized. "And that's why you looked like you were glowing gold after we did it a bunch of times. You probably _were_ glowing gold."

"Yes," Sensei replied. "However, I believe that using the Gem of Souls should have solved this problem."

Dustin and Tobi hesitantly stepped away from each other, taking more steps until they realized that they didn't become dizzy.

"Swallowing each other's liquids had a very minor effect," Sensei explained, "and filling… other holes with such liquids would not have been as much of a problem had it not been done… _repeatedly_."

"Well, we got a little carried away," Tobi admitted.

"I understand, Tobi," Sensei replied. "You must learn to pace yourselves or use protection. Consider limiting your sexual activities to two or three times in a half hour period rather than eight to ten. Otherwise, there may be _other_ consequences as well."

"What else?" Dustin asked warily.

Sensei twitched his nose before answering. "As I stated, the liquids in question contain components of life. And, since your combined powers have the ability to _create _life and you were using those powers to regenerate your energy and replenish those fluids so you were able to keep going, it would be possible to form life inside each other…"

"Dad, you are _not_ saying what I think you are," Cam interrupted.

"I'm afraid I am, son," Sensei replied.

"What's he saying?" Dustin asked, worried.

"He's saying," Cam answered, taking a breath, "you two can make each other… pregnant."

Both Tobi and Dustin's eyes widened, the two becoming speechless.

"Fortunately, that is not currently the case," Sensei continued. "Be more careful next time. I would recommend against using your powers to increase your stamina. Go with what comes naturally only or use condoms."

He then hopped over to Skyla's shoulder as she entered the apartment.

Hunter and Waldo followed, whispering to each other.

"Are you two okay?" Cam asked Dustin and Tobi.

"Uh…" Dustin mumbled.

"Pregnant," Tobi repeated.

"Yes, _pregnant_," Cam said, unable to keep from smiling.

"I've got a box of condoms that I'm not using," Tobi's sister offered.

Cam rolled his eyes.

"What?" she asked. "I'm not going to let my twin brother get knocked up."

"Uh…" Dustin mumbled again, blushing.

"Or you, Dustin," she added. "I don't want my brother to knock you up either."

Tobi turned even redder.

"Stop torturing them and come inside," Cam warned her.

The Four entered the apartment and returned to the party.

* * *

Condortron picked at its wings, causing a few feathers to fly as the aliens walked back to Vexacus' ship.

"The Power Rangers will pay for this," Vexacus grumbled.

"But how?" Shimazu asked. "They're too powerful for us."

"For you maybe," Vexacus corrected. "All you did was take credit when things were good and swap blame when they weren't."

"I was an important part of our team," Shimazu insisted.

"Was being the key word," Vexacus said, spinning to face Shimazu.

"Wait!" Shimazu cried, running to hide behind Condortron.

Vexacus laughed. "If you think that'll save you, you're wrong." He then sent a beam of yellow energy out toward Shimazu. It shot straight through Condortron until it reached its target.

In an instant, there was an explosion of feathers and the crumbling of Shimazu's statuesque body.

Vexacus walked over to the remains and kicked aside Shimazu's mask as it lay among the crumbled remains of the ancient being. "I never liked him anyway," he commented, "and he said he's only a _spirit_. But I guess I'll have to build another Condortron. And that metal was so hard to find…" When he turned back to Choobo, the alien looked extremely nervous. "Don't worry," Vexacus assured him. "I still have a use for you."

"Oh, okay," Choobo replied, instantly calming down.

As the two aliens walked off, a breeze blew away stray feathers that were covering something pink and sparkling next to the remains of Shimazu. It was the pink morpher with the pink gem attached.

* * *

"What is it?" Shane asked hesitantly, staring at the frozen concoction in front of him.

"It's supposed to be—" hippy Marah began.

"Pizza ice cream!" Dustin and Tobi declared in unison.

"Pizza ice cream?" Tori repeated, making a face.

Dustin and Tobi were already shoveling spoonfuls into a bowl that both promptly began eating from. "Mmm," the two moaned in unison.

"Is the ice cream made with…" Cam began, glancing at the others. "…human milk?"

"Of course, cousin," hippy Kapri answered.

"Made by us with love," hippy Marah added.

"They don't mean the milk's from them, do they?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"That's exactly what they mean," Cam answered as Blake made a face.

"Pizza ice cream!" Geo declared, grabbing a bowl.

"Can we have some?" the other dimension's Hunter asked.

"Sure," Tori immediately agreed. "Dig in."

"Killer," the other dimension's Cam breathed, grabbing a bowl.

"So, I guess everyone in your dimension likes pizza ice cream made from human milk?" Hunter asked Waldo.

Waldo shrugged. "I'm not a huge fan. I prefer good old fashioned hot pizza."

"Gah! Brain freeze!" Dustin and Tobi declared in unison, nearly falling over from the shared pain.

"Me too," Hunter agreed with Waldo as he watched Dustin and Tobi. "Good old fashioned _hot_ pizza."

* * *

After desert, Blake ordered some pizzas to be delivered while Hunter gestured to the room that was mostly void of furniture. "Blake and I cleaned stuff out not just to make room for everybody, but for a dance floor."

"For those of us who can dance, bro," Blake teased, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Hunter laughed. "Yeah, those of us who can dance," he repeated. "But, first, I'd like to say something."

Blake groaned. "Not a speech!"

"Nah," Hunter disagreed. "I just wanted to say how great it is to have Dustin with us and how awesome he is."

"Awesome Dude!" Tobi called out, patting Dustin.

"And thanks Tobi," Hunter continued, before adding, "and Waldo, for giving him his body again."

Waldo gave him a surprised look before adding, "And to Cam, who first came up with the idea that sunlight, when combined with the other wind elements, creates life."

"I got a lot more ideas than that from him," Tobi admitted.

"All the wisdom my brother has comes from either me or Cam," Tobi's sister added. "And, believe me, it's mostly Cam." She chuckled at this.

"And, also to Cam for standing up to Vexacus for all of us," Hunter finished.

Tobi and Dustin immediately turned to Cam and began clapping. The others quickly followed suit.

Cam looked around, bewildered. "Thanks," he mumbled. "You are all great friends."

"You too, Cam," Tori said, smiling fondly.

"In honor of Cam's brains and heart," Tobi's sister announced, standing next to Cam, "let's get this party started!"

There were general cheers all around as the thunder brothers put on some music and Geo grabbed the front legs of Destiny and began dancing her around on her hind legs.

"Wanna dance?" Shane asked Skyla.

"I don't know how," she told him.

He laughed. "Trust me, you'll catch on." He gave her a wink before pulling her forward and beginning to dance. As her moves copied and then anticipated his, he said, "See, I told you you're a natural. I also heard about what you did when we were trapped in Choobo's freaky world. You're really becoming a great ninja."

"I am?" she asked, surprised. "Thank you."

He grinned, twirling her around for fun.

"Do you want to dance?" Blake asked Tori.

She looked him over.

"Hey, I promise not to step on your toes too many times," he joked.

She smiled. "Alright," she agreed, "but I make no promises about not stepping on your toes."

"But you're a great dancer," he said, confused.

"Thanks," she replied, "but that doesn't mean my foot won't accidently _slip_."

"The way my feet slip in my mouth," Blake realized.

"Pretty much," she agreed. "Now, shall we dance, blueberry?" She then led him forward and began dancing. Blake tried to copy her moves, but dancing wasn't really his field of expertise.

Dustin took Tobi's hand and led him over closer to the speakers. Tobi laughed as Dustin went crazy with all kinds of strange wild moves. He shrugged, just going with the feelings, just like Dustin.

Hunter looked from Dustin and Tobi to Tori and Blake.

"She's a really good dancer," Waldo commented.

"Yeah, she is," Hunter agreed. "My bro could really take some pointers from her. He reminds me of a dancing penguin."

Waldo chuckled. "I see that." He sighed as he looked at Tobi and Dustin. "They dance like they're two parts of one person. Their moves, as strange as they are, are perfectly in sync."

"Yeah, I noticed," Hunter replied, eying Waldo. "You ever seen that movie Napoleon Dynamite?"

"I know what scene you're thinking of and I totally see Dustin learning his moves from watching that movie," Waldo said.

Hunter looked at the wavy haired brunette. "If they can dance, I'm sure you can too. Wanna give it a go?"

Waldo looked back at the blonde, staring at the twinkle in Hunter's blue eyes. Nodding, he agreed, "Let's do it, du—" He stopped himself before just giving in, "dude."

Hunter laughed lightly, taking Waldo's hand and leading him in a dance. And, as a slow song started, Hunter pulled Waldo to him and the brunette rested his head on the blonde's shoulder. "I think I'm starting to figure out who you are," he whispered.

"Me too," Waldo whispered back. A part of his mind was concentrating on remembering the dance moves and analyzing their pattern, but another part just went with it. And, at that moment, as those two desires became one, he felt like… himself. And he was happy.

"Aw, I love this song!" hippy Marah cooed.

"Then we should like totally dance," hippy Kapri insisted.

"Groovy," Marah agreed and the two began to sway to the music.

"Let me guess, Cam," Tobi's sister said with a small smirk. "You don't kknow how to dance.

"Actually, I do know the fundamentals," Cam corrected. "I'd just rather watch."

Tobi's sister followed Cam's gaze to Tori dancing with Blake. "I'm sure you would," she said, suddenly grabbing his hand, "but I need to dance and I want to dance with you."

He turned to look at her and then down to her hand, surprised.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," she warned.

He frowned. "I see I have no choice."

"If you'd rather stand around, I guess I'll let you," she agreed, removing his hand and pouting. "I know I tend to be rude and blunt at times." She let a small grin slip. "Wait, that sounds familiar."

Cam just watched her.

"But I'm also selfish and aggressive, which is nothing like you and probably hard for you to deal with," she continued. "I just… think you're a calming influence on me and, believe me, I really need that."

"On second thought," Cam said, taking her hand, "I'd enjoy a dance."

She smiled at him as the two began dancing. "Is this ballroom dancing?" she asked. "That's what you know the 'fundamentals' of?"

Cam shrugged. "I didn't say I knew modern dance."

She laughed. "I like that about you, Cam. You're so geeky."

He raised an eyebrow at her before spinning her.

"I mean that in a good way," she assured him with a laugh. "So, what made you suddenly decide you wanted to dance after all?"

"Because I appreciate your… enthusiasm to try new things," he explained. "Most of the time, I have to force myself to be more social, even though I do enjoy it once I get started."

"Well, I'll be more than happy to be the one to force you into things," she laughed. "I always like to be on top in a relationship."

He fumbled in his dancing.

"I don't mean _that_," she scolded. "I just mean, in control."

"Oh," he mumbled. "I can relate to the desire to be in control, but I was referring to the word… relationship."

"Ah," she realized. "I did say that, didn't I?"

He nodded while twirling her around again.

"You know, I'm not really in control here, am I?" she asked.

"I'm leading if that's what you mean," he replied.

"I don't just mean the dance," she clarified. "I feel a little out of control with you sometimes. I can't quite put my finger on it." She chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was finally falling in love."

He blinked at her.

"I know, crazy right?" she said. "The last thing you need is me falling for you."

He shrugged. "No, I think I might actually like it."

"That's what you think now," she teased before stopping to just stare at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," she replied. "I know why my brother likes you so much."

"Thanks," Cam offered. "I like him too."

"And I like you, Cam," she whispered.

"I appreciate that," he replied. "I mean, I like you too."

She laughed softly before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I'm glad I met you, Cam, and I hope I can make up for everything I did before I knew you."

He just nodded, noticing that her spiky blonde hair smelled different than Tori's, which always smelled of ocean surf. She smelled different, but he liked it.

"I wish somebody would dance with me like that," space ninja Marah complained as she watched the others dance.

The other dimension's Blake looked at her before offering, "I'll dance with you."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

"I know, I just made your day," he gloated. "Probably your year."

"More like my life!" she agreed as he led her out a few steps before taking her in his arms and dancing with her.

"So, are you going to ask me to dance now?" space ninja Kapri asked the other dimension's Shane.

"Why?" he asked. "Did all the other girls on the planet suddenly die?"

She folded her arms. "Well, _I_ wouldn't even dance with you if you were the last guy on Earth."

At that moment, a new song with a faster beat started. "Flaming Butts!" the other dimension's Cam yelled.

"Flaming what?" the other dimension's Hunter asked.

"Like you've never heard their music before," Cam scolded. "I've only played it like a bazillion times."

"Oh," Hunter realized. "Then let's dance."

"You mean, you and me?" Cam asked.

"Sure, why not?" Hunter shrugged with a grin.

"Yeah, why not?" Cam agreed, grabbing Hunter by the hand and dragging him forward before shaking his body against the laughing blonde.

"Those two need to be taught how to dance," the other dimension's Shane commented.

"And who's going to teach them?" space ninja Kapri asked. "You?"

"Maybe," he replied.

"Prove it," she challenged.

"Alright," he agreed, suddenly vibrating his whole body around his feet which actually briefly left the ground.

She rolled her eyes. "That's _not_ how you dance, _cheater_."

"Like _you_ would know," he taunted.

"I would," she insisted, suddenly busting out some moves of her own.

"Not bad, but can you do this?" he challenged and the two began having their own private dance off.

Cam's mother looked between the two guinea pigs on each side of her.

"I know what you're thinking, Miko," grumpy Sensei warned.

"I doubt it," she replied with a smirk. "You might not think we can dance now that you're a furball, but we still can."

Grumpy Sensei cocked his head to the side, about to ask how when she grabbed him and Sensei in her hands and then proceeded to spin them back and forth in the air to the music.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" grumpy Sensei shouted.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. "That's probably the pizza. I'll get it," Hunter said, as he walked to the door with Waldo still in tow.

Then, opening the door, he saw someone he didn't expect to see.

"Hunter, Dustin," Kelly greeted.

"Kell," Hunter said, surprised.

"I've been really worried about you and I thought I'd check here," she explained.

"Yeah, Dus—my mom told me you stopped by," Waldo replied. "I'm sorry that he—I haven't been in to work recently, but I promise to show up tomorrow for sure."

"Me too," Hunter agreed. "And Blake'll be there with us."

Kelly's eyes wandered down to the intertwined hands of Hunter and Waldo. "Dustin, I thought you and Tobi…" She bit her bottom lip. "Look, I know it's not my place and I like Hunter, but is it really fair to Tobi to—"

Waldo and Hunter exchanged looks before releasing each other's hands. "Trust us," Hunter said smoothly. "We'd never do anything to hurt Tobi. We both love him."

"You… oh," she mumbled. "Well, it wasn't my business anyway. I can hear you're having a party, so I won't keep you. I'm just glad you guys are okay. Oh, and I hope you guys have been practicing for tomorrow."

"For what?" Hunter asked.

She gave him a surprised look. "Don't tell me you forgot that tomorrow's the motocross qualifying race before the nationals next month. Only the top four riders qualify will go on to nationals."

"Oh, right," Hunter said, looking at Waldo.

"Oh, yeah," Waldo agreed. "Boy do we need practice though."

Kelly sighed. "I'll meet you three at the track tomorrow morning for practice and then we'll all go to the race together, but I expect you guys to show up for work the next day, alright?"

"Thanks, Kell," Hunter told her.

"Yeah, you're the best boss ever," Waldo agreed.

She just nodded, turning to go. "Goodnight," she called.

"Night, Kell!" they called after her, before closing the door.

"That was close," Hunter breathed.

"You don't think she can handle there being two of each of us from different dimensions?" Waldo asked.

"I guess it's no stranger than if we told her were Power Rangers," Hunter commented.

"Right," Waldo agreed.

Then the doorbell rang again, but this time it actually was the pizza delivery guy. After paying, Hunter and Waldo carried the boxes inside.

"Pizza!" Dustin shouted, running over.

"Don't tell me you're still hungry," Tori teased.

"Dustin's always hungry," Tobi giggled. "He makes me hungry too."

"Ah, vegetarian for those of us who are shocked and appalled at the fact that you eat animals in this dimension," Tobi's sister said, reaching for a vegetable covered pizza.

"Actually, it was for Cam," Blake corrected.

"I don't think I need a whole pizza for myself," Cam pointed out, "but I appreciate the thought."

"Not everyone eats like Dustin," Shane joked as Dustin debated between two pizzas before taking one slice of each and putting them on top of each other. He then shoved the combined pieces in his mouth.

"I have the chocolate sauce," hippy Marah announced, brining over a container of chocolate sauce.

"What's the chocolate…" Tori began to ask just as she saw Geo pour a bunch of chocolate over a slice of cheese pizza.

"Awesome idea, Geodude!" Dustin cheered, also pouring chocolate on top of his pizza.

"Now even my pizza tastes like chocolate," Tobi laughed at their combined tastes.

"I'm starting to wonder if Geo is secretly related to Dustin," Tori suggested.

"Wouldn't that be like _so_ crazy if that was true?" hippy Kapri cooed.

"But that'd make me and Dustin cousins too then," hippy Marah pointed out.

"And that would be crazy alright," Tori mumbled.

"Like _so_ crazy," hippy Kapri agreed.

* * *

Lothor paced in front of Vexacus. "I specifically told you _not_ to destroy any more of my generals," he growled. "I know I should destroy you for disobeying me, but you're too good a warrior."

"Thank you, sir," Vexacus replied calmly.

"And I'm not surprised you failed," Lothor continued, waving a hand dismissively, "but at least the trip wasn't a total loss. Hand over the pieces of the Gem of Souls you found in the ocean."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Vexacus answered innocently.

"You can cut the act," Lothor snapped. "I was watching the whole thing."

"Ah," Vexacus realized, reluctantly producing the fragments and handing them to Lothor. While Lothor studied them, he asked, "If you were watching the entire time, then you saw that your nieces turned against us."

"I did," Lothor groaned.

"Would you like me to destroy them for you?" Vexacus offered.

Lothor stood right up against Vexacus' face and glared at him from behind his black face mask. "Listen good, Vexacus," he growled out. "Blood is thicker than water. Whatever they've done, they're still family. You, you're just an alien. I don't care how good a warrior you are. I'll destroy you myself. Understood?"

"Perfectly, sir," Vexacus replied.

"Good," Lothor said, his tone suddenly lightening as he regained a normal stance. "Now, these pieces might not be enough for my ultimate goal, but they should at least be enough to break through that field my pesky nephew set up. Now, leave me."

"As you wish, sir," Vexacus agreed, spinning on his heels.

"Your day will come," Lothor whispered, watching the alien as he left.

* * *

"That was a pretty wild party," the other dimension's Blake commented while the two Toris tried to make room in Tori's van.

"Especially the part where we fought those aliens," the other dimension's Hunter agreed.

"And when you turned on them," the other dimension's Shane added, looking at space ninja Kapri and Marah.

"Well, they were jerks anyway," space ninja Kapri replied.

"So true," the other dimension's Cam nodded along.

"You sure you don't wanna stay the night?" Blake asked Tori as she put some leftovers under the seat.

"Actually, I'm going home after I drop these guys off at Ops," she explained.

"Oh," Blake mumbled, pouting.

"Don't worry, bro," Hunter said, patting the younger Bradley's shoulder. "You can always sleep in my bed if you're lonely."

"Your bed's probably a mess after what Dustin and Tobi did in there," Blake reminded him.

"Well, your bed then," Hunter suggested.

"I'm starting to be really glad my brother's gay," Tobi's sister commented, "what with the way these two siblings get along."

"Uh, right," Tori mumbled. "Since I'm pretty sure Tobi won't be spending the night with me, you want to come over?"

"As much as I'd love to see your parents' faces when they discover you have _another_ twin—or should I say _triplet_—I'm going to stay with Cam. He needs some company besides a talking guinea pig he calls dad."

"Oh, are you two…?" Tori asked.

"We're still just… friends," Tobi's sister replied, adding, "for now." She leaned in to whisper, "You remember how I said I've never been in love and wondered if I was going to fall for this dimension's Blake instead of my own?"

Tori nodded.

"Well, I might just be falling and not for one of the Blakes," Tobi's sister continued. "I bet that makes you happy. No more competition."

"It does make me happy," Tori agreed. "It makes me happy to know Cam has someone."

Tobi's sister raised her eyebrows. "That's… sweet of you." She chuckled to herself. "I really hope some of that rubs off of you onto me."

"Give it time," Tori said with a smile as Dustin and Tobi walked over with Waldo.

"You can drop us off at Dustin's," Tobi told the Toris.

"Yeah, I'm gonna sneak TZT into my room," Dustin said with a grin.

"Here, you'll probably end up needing these," Tobi's sister said, handing her brother a box of condoms.

"Thanks," he said, blushing heavily as he took the package.

"I'll, uh, stay at Ninja Ops," Waldo volunteered. "You two have fun."

"You can stay here if you want," Hunter offered. "If my bed's not a mess, you can have it. If it is, the couch is pretty comfy."

"You want me to share a bed with you?" Waldo asked, wide eyed.

"Sounds like they're gonna need some of those condoms too, Tobi," Blake joked.

"I meant that you'd get the bed while I stay in Blake's room," Hunter explained, turning crimson.

"On second thought, we'll need those condoms," Blake joked.

"It's just because of Tobi's powers that they can get pregnant," Hunter corrected. "We can't get pregnant no matter how many times we do it."

Blake's eyes widened. "Bro, I was _joking_!" he shouted.

"Oh, right," Hunter mumbled while Blake became as crimson as he already was.

"Okay then," Tori said, turning to the others. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"And we can swap dance partners too for fun," Dustin added as he and Tobi climbed into Tori's van. Before the door was closed, he called, "Night, dudes!"

* * *

On the drive back to the waterfall portal, the overstuffed van was full of excited conversations. Sure, it had been a long day, but it was nothing if not eventful. Then, suddenly Skyla called for Tori to stop.

"What's wrong?" Tori asked, pulling over to the side of the paved road through the woods.

"I don't know," Skyla replied, a look of concentration on her face.

"What do you sense?" Shane asked as she motioned that she wanted to get out.

The group emerged from the van and followed Skyla as she walked into the woods.

"A late night trek through the woods isn't my idea of a good time," the other dimension's Hunter commented.

"Shh," Shane warned as Skyla came to a stop.

"There," she said.

"What?" Shane asked.

"Here," Tori offered, handing Shane a flashlight.

As Shane shined the light around them, they gasped at what they saw. Spread out around a small clearing in the woods were strewn feathers and the crumbled remains of Shimazu.

"What happened?" Cam asked.

"Vexacus killed them," Skyla answered somberly.

"It looks like you didn't have to be the one to finish them after all," Cam told Tobi.

Tobi nodded. "Maybe Vexacus will destroy Lothor too."

"They have feelings," Skyla said, turning to Cam and Tobi. "They're not just monsters. There are things they were afraid of and things they wanted."

"Like to destroy us," Shane told her.

"Like… to live," she corrected before turning back to look at the remains.

"You're right, Skyla," Shane whispered to her. "I'm sorry."

She took his hand and forced a smile. "It's okay. Just… I don't think anyone's _completely_ evil."

Shane glanced at space ninja Marah and Kapri.

"Hey, what's that?" Dustin suddenly asked as he and Tobi approached the remains and reached down, picking up something pink.

"It looks like a morpher," Shane suggested.

"Here, dude, what do you think?" Dustin asked, handing it to Cam.

"It's definitely a morpher, but I don't recognize the configuration," Cam replied. "Circuit might have some information. Can I hold onto it?"

"Why not?" Tobi asked.

"Skyla's technically the one who led us out here where we found it," Cam pointed out, gesturing around. "It's hers."

Skyla looked at him, surprised.

"You are a powerful ninja after all," Shane told her with a wink before looking back at the remains. "And you happen to also be wiser than the rest of us."

She smiled at Shane before offering, "You can hold onto it, Cam. I trust you."

Cam nodded as the others returned to Tori's van.

Tobi's sister glanced back at the crumbled Shimazu and strewn feathers of Condortron before they left. "I guess even evil villains deserve a second chance."

"You did," Cam whispered, patting her arm.

"I'm glad we're on the same side," she told him.

"And I'm glad we're… friends," he replied.

She nodded, throwing an arm around him as they returned to the van and Tori drove them back to Ninja Ops. They both slept peacefully that night.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**__ Cam finally gets the recognition he deserves! This has been a long time coming if you consider the role Cam has played throughout this story. And, what will become of the pink morpher? What did you think of them all being paired up during the dance scene? I still didn't have a clear winner for TZTori's name in the poll, so I had to keep calling her "Tobi's sister" which is a pain. But, don't worry, I'll have something decided by the next chapter!  
_

_In case you're wondering, in the show, Condortron never came to life and was instead destroyed by the rangers in the episode "Gem of a Day" and Shimazu was destroyed by Marah and Kapri in the episode "Down and Dirty." Also, in the show, Marah and Kapri go from stupid to smart and then straight from evil to being on the rangers' side, no real explanation given except that their uncle, who constantly said how important family was, tried to kill them. I'd like to think my version of events makes a little more sense story-wise. And, yes, the end of the series and the end of this story will be different too. I know how it ends! Yay!  
_

_I hope everyone's enjoying their summer so far. Just so you know, I'm probably going to work on some of my other stories before getting back to this one. They need some attention too. Remember, you can check what I'm working on and my progress at the top of my profile! Check it out! Oh, and that's also where you'll find a link to my DeviantART account, where I __**constantly**__ post new and exciting pictures that will totally blow your mind! So, check it out! Even if you don't want to see Dustin, Shane or even Blake or Hunter shirtless (which, why wouldn't you?), there's plenty more that you might like!_

_**Newsflash!** I have a life. Shocking, yes? I might do journals on my DeviantART account to prove this, but... I do lots of other things besides write, so don't be surprised if you don't get updates on the other stories either._


	42. Home For Good

**Last Poll Results:** _**What should TZTori's aka Tobi's sister's nickname be? **_Tied for first: Ri and Lia. Tied for second: Tora and Trista. Tied for third: Fin, Lil, Lynn, Nessie, Tina and Jen. So, Tobi's sister's nickname will be revealed in this chapter…

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **This chapter is basically a resolution of the last chapter before the story progresses again, so no real action, just drama. And, I'm so sorry for it being **forever** since the last chapter, but I had… uh, personal issues around this story. Would you believe it was June 15 of last year, as in **eight months** ago! I've actually read through this entire story twice since then and tried to fix any major errors I noticed. So, since it's been so long, I decided to do a sort of refresher chapter with this one, you know, to remind you of the characters developed during this story and also get myself back into the world I created. Though, no one's like completely forgotten about this story, have they? If you feel lost, just read the "**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm**" below. Oh! And I discovered that I've been using the word blonde wrong! It's blond for boys and blonde for girls. Now I know…_

* * *

_**Review Comments: **_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for continuing to review my other stories while this one was on vacation. Um, yeah, vacation sounds better than other words I could use… And it was things like that scene where Hunter meets Kim and they have a conversation about crimson being like pink just as one example, that gave me some interesting ideas. I didn't end up doing a pink morpher trap, though it is an interesting idea. And I could never be Power Rangere'd out, so I'm not sure how that works for you, but if you prefer Harry Potter right now (or at least when you wrote this review), then do what you enjoy!_

_Thanks **Ghostwriter **for sticking with this story through thick and thin and praising my action centric chapters like the last one. I know it's been a really long time, but I'm hoping you'll start following this story again if I continue writing it. I know you probably want to go all Marah and Kapri kick-butt on me after this, so again, I'm sorry!_

_Thanks **megsjedi** for all your praise for the last chapter and the direction I took both with Dustin and Tobi's physical relationship and with all the cam love. Also, thanks for your vote for Tobi's sister's name. Was it the winner? I guess we'll find out what I decided to call her in this chapter. Yes, of course, your vote counts double. ;p And now I have to take up watching wrestling… I wonder how my dad would take that!_

_Thanks **LadySociopath009 **for never failing to write reviews like this one that encourage me to keep going when I really need some encouragement. I feel like I let you down personally though. There you were, telling me how awesome the story and even I was and then I just left you hanging with no real explanation. And we had just talked about what I was going to do *after* this story! I know it's not really much, but I added a little tiny something in here about the origins of the pink morpher that might interest you. Hint, it's about the *type* of Power Rangers that possessed it._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for supporting not only my story, but every single pairing I come up with. You name it, you were there to show your support! I'm *really* sorry I just up and stopped writing like that. I had…personal issues to deal with. That, and I found other things to keep me busy. I *try* to make it up to you by having Cam express his feelings more for Tobi's sister like you suggested in your last review. And, to answer a question you asked in that review, Shimazu stole the morpher and crystal off the wall of Vexacus' ship when the two of them went looking for the pieces of the Gem of Souls that ended up at the bottom of the ocean after Cam threw them away in an early episode of Ninja Storm. Don't worry, I go over this in this chapter, since I know it was a quick scene in chapter 40. And, lastly, yes, I just couldn't resist the whole making rainbows and pregnancy thing!_

_Thanks **Hampsta66 **for reading through the whole story and sticking with it even when you weren't sure where it was going to go. I'm glad I was able to come up with things that kept you amazed. And, yes, I know you've been waiting forever for a new chapter! I can't promise this will be something that's worth the wait, but I'll *try* not to torture you like that again…_

_Thanks **BafflingBravado **for encouraging me to take my time! Anyone else would be like, "Why haven't you updated in forever? Where's the next chapter?" It's actually a good type of encouragement, so thanks. And you are…Um…Who calls me "love"? This will probably come to me at some point… I'm terrible at guessing apparently. Do I get another clue? Please?_

_Thanks **Tarice the Styraurus **for joining the world of Parallel Realities Ninja Storm! Thanks for your reviews too, as they help me know what you think as you go along, since each chapter presents something different. I'm also glad you enjoy the story, though no pressure to drop everything and read the rest. Yes, yes, I'm writing a new chapter, but they are *so much* faster to read then they are to write, so you have plenty of time. It's not like *I'm* up to date with *your* stories anyway! ;p Ha! For all I know, you're reading this like months from now too… *face palm* Take care, PB!_

* * *

_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Cam is taken prisoner by Vexacus and, despite Sensei's warnings, the others are willing to trade the pieces of the Gem of Souls that Hunter had kept (and possibly the fate of the world) for Cam because they all care so much about him. But, when Choobo captures all the rangers except for Tobi and Skyla, Tobi's connection to Dustin is severed, weakening him and Dustin to the point of near death. While Skyla fights to protect hippy Marah and Kapri, Tobi helps space ninja Marah and Kapri retrieve the Gem of Souls from Ninja Ops. However, in the end, the space ninjas realize that the aliens they work with are constantly trying to kill them whereas the rangers are always trying to save them, leading that Marah and Kapri to join the rangers against the aliens. Once free of Choobo, Dustin and Tobi regain the strength and connection and Tobi wants to kill the aliens, but Dustin stops him, though their combined powers ends up brining Condortron to life. Clearly outmatched, Vexacus, Shimazu, Choobo and the now living Condortron are warned off by a seriously pissed off Cam. But, once the aliens leave, a vengeful Vexacus kills both Condortron and Shimazu before returning to Lothor with the pieces of the Gem of Souls he found in the ocean. Meanwhile, couples form and they share a happy ending for the night (despite Dustin and Tobi discovering that they can make each other pregnant if they're not more careful) until Skyla leads them to the remains of Condortron and Shimazu and the pink morpher that Shimazu stole from Vexacus' ship…**_

* * *

**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 42 (Home For Good)**

* * *

Dustin and Tobi stood outside the window of Dustin's bedroom, quietly giggling in the dark. _If you go first, I can give you a push_, Dustin thought at Tobi, adding the mental image of his hands on the blond's buttocks as he pushed Tobi into his room.

_Alright, butt lover_, Tobi agreed with a giggle.

"That's not the only part of you I love," Dustin whispered, giving Tobi a quick kiss on the lips while his hands explored Tobi's body.

_All of me, I know_," Tobi thought, adding, "Awesome Dude."

Dustin chuckled before trying to pry his window open. _It's stuck._

_I could use a little force_, Tobi started to suggest mentally before an image of shattering glass came from Dustin's mind. "Probably right," he agreed.

"We'll just go in through the front door," Dustin whispered, taking Tobi's hand and leading him around the house. _My mom's probably already asleep and I know Maya is._

But, as Dustin fumbled with his house key in the dark, the front door opened, revealing—

"Mom," Dustin gulped.

"Waldo, honey," she greeted happily. "I was hoping you'd come back, especially after our talk."

"Our talk?" Dustin started to ask, but Tobi's thoughts reminded him of Waldo's earlier visit to pick up clothes. "Oh, right," he said, noticing her turn to look at Tobi. "Oh, and mom, this is Tobi Hanson, Tori's twin brother."

"But we've known the Hanson's for years," she protested, studying the blond. "They don't have a son."

"Uh, yeah, that's a long story," Tobi commented just as her eyes drifted down to his and Dustin's intertwined hands.

She looked at her son, blinking.

Tobi could feel Dustin's nervousness and he started to pull his hand from the brunette, but then Dustin tightened his grip and smiled at him.

_No, you're like part of me now, TZT_," Dustin thought at him. _You have all my crazy and awesome memories. She's partly your mom too._

Tobi grinned back and they both turned to Dustin's mom at the same time and, in unizon, said, "We're boyfriends."

Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Dustin gave her a nervous look. "I'm like really sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner, but things have been…"

"Intense," Tobi added.

Dustin nodded, watching his mom. "Mom? You're not…disappointed, are you?"

She blinked quickly, reaching out to take her son by the arms. "No, Waldo, I love you no matter what. And…I always kinda suspected you might be gay. You were an odd child. Like that time—"

"Mom!" Dustin interrupted.

"He likes girls too," Tobi added.

"Oh," she mumbled, raising an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you ever date girls like other boys, like your friend Shane?"

"He was…" Tobi started to answer for Dustin, knowing his memories as well as his own, but he didn't want to admit how Dustin could never reach out. He only made friends when people came to him and introduced themselves. He never sought them out, and the only girls he'd known besides Tori were weird or mean.

"I was just waiting for the right dude to come along," Dustin finished, adding quietly, "from the Twilight Zone."

"What was that about the Twilight Zone?" Dustin's mom asked curiously, an excited smile forming. "We have every episode of the original series. We can stay up and have a Twilight Zone marathon of our own." She couldn't help but clap her hands and bounce on her heals with anticipation.

Dustin ran a hand through his wavy brown hair nervously. "Uh, we were gonna go sleep."

"Oh," she realized, her expression falling.

"I guess you want to have your sleepover with your…" She paused, staring at Tobi. "…boyfriend." She then turned back to Dustin. "Honey, did your dad ever have the talk with you?"

Tobi stifled a giggle as he recalled Dustin's dad's attempted "talk" and how poorly it had went. _"Uh, birds and bees and stuff and…good talk, son."_ Mr. Brooks was definitely more a man of action than words.

"Don't worry, mom," Dustin assured her. He looked at Tobi and the blond immediately picked up on his thoughts, pulling out the box of condoms his sister had given them.

_Let's not mention the whole risk of pregnancy thing_, Tobi thought at him.

Dustin nodded, blushing as his mom looked at the box in Tobi's hand.

"Uh…" she mumbled. "Well, I trust you," she assured her son. "My baby's growing up," she whispered while gesturing for the two to come inside.

Sharing Dustin's thoughts meant that Dustin's house already felt like home to Tobi. He looked around the living room, stopping to look at Dustin's mom, who looked uncomfortable, like she sensed she was just in the way. She knew her son deserved space and didn't want to be smothered, but, as his mom, she wanted to be part of his life. Tobi didn't have to look at Dustin to know the brunette was reading his thoughts.

"Hey, maybe one episode of Twilight Zone would be cool," Dustin told his mom.

She literally skipped over to the tv. "There's this one staring William Shatner," she began, "the actor who played Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series, that always scared Waldo."

"Because of his fear of heights," Tobi realized outloud as the two followed her to the couch.

"Oh, you've seen it," she said, disappointed. "Oh, but what about _To Serve Man_?"

Tobi laughed as Dustin's mind immediately provided the ending to the episode in question and then to the episode of the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror parody.

"Whatever you pick'll be cool, mom," Dustin told her.

As she smiled at her son, Tobi decided to add, "You raised an awesome son, mo—Mrs. Brooks." He glanced at Dustin, who had a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Thank you, Tobi," she said, leaning in to whisper to her son. "He seems like a keeper so far."

"Oh, he's a total keeper," Dustin whispered back, knowing full well that Tobi could hear everything he could.

As Dustin's mom picked out a DVD, Tobi laid his head on Dustin's chest and let out a sigh.

"Home is where the heart is," Dustin whispered, remembering Tobi's thoughts form the night Dustin died.

Tobi just nodded as Dustin ran his fingers through his hair.

"So, how did you two meet?" Dustin's mom asked as she sat on the couch next to the two.

This caused them to both laugh as the two pictured Tobi running from another dimension, yelling at Hunter and Blake and passing out at the sight of Dustin shirtless. Dustin added in an image of him showering thoroughly after that for Tobi's amusement.

"Uh, we met at Storm Chargers," Dustin offered.

"That place certainly is popular," she commented as the episode began. "You two want some popcorn?"

"Yeah," both agreed together.

"I'll get some," she said, giving her son a wink as she skipped off.

_So, I guess we won't be using these tonight_, Tobi thought to Dustin, picturing the box of condoms.

Dustin cocked his head to the side. _It feels weird thinking of having something between us_, he thought back, picturing a condom.

Tobi nodded. _But we can't get much closer. We've shared our bodies, our minds, even our spirits_.

Dustin's golden brown eyes looked dark in the light from the television. Tobi felt Dustin share his memory of the night they had spent together in Dustin's room and he felt an idea forming in Dustin's mind as the earth ninja took his hand. "Feel," he whispered.

And Tobi immediately knew what Dustin meant. It wasn't just feeling the warmth of Dustin's hand in his or feeling his own hand in Dustin's from their shared perspectives. He closed his eyes and let his mind see their life forces, the strands of life flowing through them and connecting them. He could feel the bones in their hands, the joints and muscles, the blood as it flowed through them, the distinction between blood with oxygen and without. His and Dustin's thoughts were one as they both followed the bloodflow back to each other's hearts. The beating of their hearts seemed to become so loud and so intense until suddenly the beats synchronized and became one.

_Thump! Thump! _It wasn't a double sound or an echo, but a single beat between them. Even their breathing matched, each breathing in and out as the other did. Time seemed to stop and all that mattered was that they were together.

Dustin's mom returned with popcorn in hand to find the two with their eyes closed, sleeping in each other's arms, their hands still clasped together. She smiled down at her son and his boyfriend before pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and placing it over the two. After kissing her son's forehead, she turned off the tv and decided to leave the two lovebirds in peace. But, as she turned to go, she shook her head at something she thought she saw but knew she had only imagined. It almost looked like the two were…glowing.

* * *

Blake watched Hunter show Waldo the blond's room while generously offering to let the brunette stay as long as he wanted.

"I hadn't really thought about anything permanent," Waldo admitted.

"No pressure," Hunter replied with a smirk.

"I'm amazed, with those two, there's not more of a mess on your bed," Waldo commented. "Is that…whip cream or…?"

"Uh, yeah, but it does smell like…sex in here," Hunter added, looking the bed over.

"You're thinking of them in bed together," Waldo pointed out. "Me too."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, looking at the brunette.

"I'm…happy for them and all," Waldo explained. "After having Dustin in my head, I can't not be, but it just feels like I was left out…"

"I know what you mean," Hunter nodded along. "This is the bed we sat on when I told Dustin how I feel about him."

"I remember," Waldo replied. "You were so…sincere in your belief that we—that you and Dustin were destined to be together."

Hunter ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Yeah, well, as Tobi would say, you make your own destiny."

"Yeah…Tobi would say that," Waldo agreed, looking back at the bed. "It's strange that I'm not more turned on, since he basically had sex with my duplicate."

"Just because someone looks the same doesn't mean he's not his own person," Hunter explained, smirking at the brunette.

"Right," Waldo mumbled, unable to keep from smiling himself.

"Hey, if you're not tired yet, wanna dance?" Hunter suddenly offered.

"Awesome," Waldo agreed, taking the blond's hand.

"Don't be surprised if I shock you, though," Hunter chuckled as he led Waldo into the living room and put on some music. "Us thunder ninja's build up static electricity really easily."

"Don't worry, dude," Waldo assured him, following the blond's moves as the two began to dance together. "Being an earth ninja means I'm very good at grounding charges."

"You're welcome to ground my charges anytime you want," Hunter chuckled.

Waldo shook his head. "That doesn't even make sense."

Hunter shrugged. "I know." Then he noticed Waldo's eyes drift to the corner of the room. He followed the earth ninja's gaze to Blake standing in the corner, a troubled look on his face. "Bro, you okay?"

"Yeah," Blake mumbled, heading for Hunter's room. "I just…better put away those toppings."

"We'll help you," Waldo offered, pausing in their dance.

"I got it," Blake assured them, picking up some stray topping containers.

Hunter and Waldo reentered Hunter's room, the blond picking up a whip cream container and sniffing it. "I'll put this in the fridge," he offered, heading for the kitchen.

Blake watched him go before turning back to look at Waldo. "So…you two seem pretty close now," he commented.

Waldo looked at the younger Bradley while picking up some chocolate sauce. "Yeah," he agreed, smiling. "We are."

"Um, cool," Blake mumbled. "He…deserves to be happy. He's been through…a lot in his life."

Waldo just nodded.

"Here, I'll take that," Blake offered, taking the container in the earth ninja's hands and leaving the room.

Hunter was closing the fridge when Blake stepped into his view. "How long is he gonna stay here?" the shorter Bradley asked, his expression forced neutrality.

"As long as he wants to," Hunter replied, turning to study his brother's face. They'd grown up together and he knew the navy ranger better than anyone else. "Are you jealous, bro?"

"No," Blake quickly defended. "It's just… It was always you and me and…that used to be our song."

"_You are the thunder and I am the lighting_," Hunter repeated the lyrics.

"_I love the way you know who you are and to me it's exciting_," Blake added.

"Listen, bro," Hunter said, leaning against the fridge. "It used to be just you and me and…that was okay, but it stopped the day you met Tori."

"And you met Dustin," Blake pointed out.

Hunter nodded.

"Not that I don't like Waldo and all," Blake defended. "He seems good for you. It's just…"

"Blake," Hunter said, placing a hand on the shorter Bradley's shoulder, "you'll always be my bro, even after we're a couple of old married guys."

Blake rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'll probably be an old man before I can get Tori to marry me."

"One step at a time, bro," Hunter told him. "Call her. She probably just got back from dropping everyone off."

"Right," Blake replied with a nod, thinking.

"Go get her, tiger," Hunter teased, kissing his brother on the forehead, which the navy ranger quickly wiped at. "Or do you go by blueberry now?"

Blake rolled his yes. "That's just something between Tori and me," he explained, adding, "Strawberry."

Hunter studied the containers that Blake had. "It looks like they decided to use strawberry toppings and not blueberry…"

The navy ranger set the containers on the counter and Hunter took them, putting them into the fridge while chuckling softly to himself.

"Any leftover's in there?" a voice suddenly interrupted the brothers. They turned to see Waldo.

"Yeah, leftover blueberry jam," Blake mumbled.

"The strawberry was left over," Hunter told him. "Besides, _she_ likes blueberry better than strawberry. Though she'd _love_ both…"

"Whatever you've got is fine," Waldo suggested.

"How about a _Bradley Sandwich_?" Hunter teased, winking at his brother. "We Bradley's love to _share_."

Blake glared at the blond. "Not unless two Tori's are involved, bro."

Hunter shrugged. "That would be nice, but who gets her cherry?"

"Blueberry and cherry go together better than strawberry and cherry," Blake insisted.

"Only because strawberry loves blueberry so much," Hunter replied.

"Any flavor's fine with me," Waldo suggested. "What's the Bradley Sandwich filled with?"

"Oh, it's filled with—" Hunter began before his brother jabbed him in the ribs. "Awesomeness," he settled for.

"Awesomeness isn't an ingredient, not being a physical substance," Waldo started to point out before grinning, "but it sounds…awesome, dude."

"Well, you can have it minus one Bradley," Blake said, walking off. "I'm gonna call Tori."

"Good luck, bro," Hunter called.

"What's he need good luck with?" Waldo asked.

"The whole talking on the phone thing," Hunter explained.

Waldo looked at the crimson ranger, puzzled. "Does this Blake not know how to use a phone?"

Hunter chuckled. "He just has trouble with the talking part."

"Uh, sure," Waldo mumbled.

"And, bro," Hunter yelled from the kitchen, "try not to eat a _foot_ sandwich again."

Waldo blinked at the blonde before asking, "So, how about that sandwich?"

Hunter stared at the brunette for a moment. "I…don't think we're ready for that yet."

Waldo raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Are you missing an ingredient?"

"Aside from missing one Bradley?" Hunter replied. "It's just, sandwich-making isn't something you wanna rush into." He paused, studying Waldo. "Even if we do have all the other ingredients…"

"Like awesomeness?" Waldo suggested, grinning.

"Like awesomeness," Hunter agreed.

In Blake's room, the navy ranger raised his morpher, calling Tori. "Yeah, I finished dropping them off and just got home," she explained. "So, why'd you call?"

"I just…wanted to hear your voice," he admitted.

"You just heard it like an hour ago," she reminded him, her smile audible even through the morpher.

"Yeah," he agreed, scratching his head, "but I just wanted your voice to be the last thing I hear before I go to sleep."

There was a silence on the other end of the line and Blake fidgeted with his morpher.

"Look, I'm sorry if I just put my foot in my mouth again," he quickly apologized. "I just—"

"No, Blake," she interrupted. "That was sweet. I guess I'm just not used to this side of you."

"Well, you know," he began, "blueberries are a pretty sweet fruit."

She giggled. "They can be. Goodnight, Blake. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, blueberry," Blake whispered.

"_Sweet_ dreams," she chuckled.

"Always," he agreed as he laid down on his bed and she signed off. "Sweet dreams indeed."

* * *

Shane and Skyla had already called it a night, but Cam was still sitting in the main room of Ninja Ops hard at work analyzing the mysterious pink morpher that Skyla had found among the remains of Condortron and Shimazu in the woods.

"Son, perhaps you should get some rest," Sensei said, approaching the green ranger.

"Just a little longer," Cam assured his father.

The guinea pig agreed, nodding before leaving to go off to sleep himself.

"Sensei's right," Tobi's sister told the samurai, leaning over his chair.

"I'm still studying how the crystal interfaces with the morpher itself," Cam replied without looking up. Suddenly he felt himself being dragged backward.

"You said you need someone to push you to do things you'll end up enjoying," she said, pulling him away from his work. "Well, I happen to know your body will really enjoy sleeping."

Cam sighed, relenting. "Circuit, continue the tests on the morpher and scan your memory for anything similar," he ordered the flying moth. "Have a report ready for me in the morning."

"Of course, Cam," Circuit agreed, immediately picking up where the green ranger had left off.

"I had no idea you were such a slave driver, Cam," Tobi's sister chuckled, dragging him out of the room. "So, which one's your room?"

"It's just down the hall, on the left," he replied. "Are you planning on tying me to the bed?"

"That's really tempting," she agreed, arriving at the room. Looking around, she noted, "This place is pretty sparse."

"I prefer a lack of clutter," he explained, following her gaze.

"There is a middle ground," she suggested. "Anyway, let's get to bed."

Cam's eyes widened.

"I just mean to sleep," she assured him. "Unless…you want more."

"No, I'll be fine," he replied quickly.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I guess you probably think I'm Tobi's evil twin sister, the one who betrayed you and who, even before then, had sex just for sex."

He frowned, studying her expression. "No, I…I understand what it's like to have sex just be sex."

"I thought you were a virgin," she pointed out.

"With…Cyber Tori," he reluctantly admitted.

"Ah," she realized. "Well, I am just another Tori."

"You're not just another Tori," he told her. "You're…unique." He couldn't help but run a hand through her short blonde hair.

"Yeah, unique," she mumbled, frowning.

"That's a good thing," he assured her. "It's what has made me realize something."

"That you're really bad with compliments?" she suggested.

He rolled his eyes. "That…I love you."

Her expression froze on her face.

"I realized what love is," he explained. "It's caring for someone so strongly not in spite of their faults but because of them." He waited for her to respond. "Or…so I've concluded." He noticed that her eyes were shiny. "What's wrong? If it's because I said I love you, I actually care greatly for a number of people. I'm not—"

"Cam," she interrupted. "It's just…besides my brother, no guy has said that to me before. All those guys…but no one…"

He reached up to dry her eyes. "Maybe the best course of action would be a fresh start."

She blinked away the remaining dampness and nodded. "I like that idea. You're always the practical one, Cam." She thought for a moment. "I think a good place to start would be to not be just another Tori, even by name."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to change your name to distinguish yourself."

"I know," she agreed, "but I like the idea of trying something new. Suggestions?"

He furrowed his brow, thinking. "Well, Tori—this dimension's Tori…" He paused. "I see what you mean. She…Her middle name is Ophelia and I always thought it sounded—"

"Stiff and formal," Tobi's sister interrupted. "That's my middle name too, but I've never liked it."

"And you're anything but stiff and formal," Cam agreed, thinking. "How about a shorter version like…Lia."

"Lia?" she repeated, testing the sound. "I don't know if it's just because you're the one saying it and I'm obviously hopelessly in love with you, you big geek, but I like it. Lia Hanson, older and wiser sister of Tobi and Tori Hanson."

"I'm pretty sure you and Tori are the exact same age," Cam pointed out.

"A couple hours make a lot of difference," she assured him. "Look at Tobi and me. Speaking of a couple hours," she realized, "that's about all the sleep you're gonna get unless you go to bed this minute."

"Alright, Lia," Cam sighed, fighting off a smile.

"Goodnight, loverboy," she teased. And, leaning forward, she gave the samurai ranger a goodnight kiss. They slept peacefully that night.

* * *

The next morning, Dustin and Tobi were still lying on the couch in Dustin's living room with their bodies intertwined when the sound of the television woke them from a shared dream where Dustin's insecurities about not fitting in blended with Tobi's insecurities about not belonging until their pasts, like every other part of them, intertwined.

The two stretched, noticing Dustin's sister watching a nature program. "I didn't want to wake you two, but it's afternoon already, so I figured I'd waited long enough," she told them.

"Sorry about that, Maya," Tobi apologized. "We were just—"

"Tired," Dustin continued. "It was a—"

"Long night," Tobi finished.

"So, who's your boyfriend?" she asked without taking her eyes off the screen.

"How—" Dustin stammered. "How'd you know?"

"Let's see," she began, counting on her fingers. "He knows my name, you two were sleeping together, you finish each other's sentences and you're still holding hands." She looked away from the tv to glance at her brother. "Did I miss something?"

Dustin and Tobi looked down at their hands. They hadn't even noticed their fingers were so tightly intertwined.

"Okay, you win," Dustin conceded. "He's Tobi and he's Tori's twin brother."

"Tori doesn't have a twin brother," Maya corrected.

"I hear that a lot," Tobi groaned. "Even back in the other dimension I came from, people often—"

"Didn't notice you right away because Tori…outshined you," Dustin continued, reading Tobi's thoughts word for word. _No one could ever outshine you_, he mentally reassured Tobi.

"Dimensions are fixed parameters used for measurements," Maya explained, "like up, down, left, right. Are you sure you don't mean a parallel _reality_?"

"Um, sure," the two agreed.

She studied Tobi for a moment. "So…that would mean that quantum spatial fractal discohesion is possible after all…"

The two just blinked at her.

"My physics teacher owes me an apology," she said, turning back to the television.

_We slept through all the cartoons again, didn't we?_ Dustin thought.

"Yeah, we both seem to do that a lot," Tobi agreed. _You hungry?_

"Starving," Dustin nodded.

Maya turned to study the two suspiciously as they got up and headed for the kitchen.

"That's my favorite breakfast food too!" Dustin declared before noticing his sister watching them. He just offered her a thumbs up.

As Dustin approached the fridge, a wave of dizziness came over the two.

_But we didn't do it again last night_, Tobi thought.

_I know_, Dustin agreed. "We just did the whole feeling each other's life force thing."

"Maybe that's it," Tobi realized.

_Aw, but I liked it_," Dustin whined.

Tobi closed his eyes and concentrated on seeing the life force connecting the two. _Let me try something_, he thought, focusing on narrowing the connection from a wide blur of energy into a string.

Dustin stepped closer to Tobi and then further away as he saw Tobi manipulating their connection. The thinner the string, the longer it became and the further apart they could be, but it also made the string much more concentrated. It became a brighter and brighter glowing strand to Tobi, but was completely invisible to everyone else.

Suddenly the chair next to the kitchen table fell over as the life force string connecting them bumped the chair.

"It can touch things?" Dustin gasped.

"When it's concentrated like this instead of spread out," Tobi realized.

_We might be able to use this sometime_, Dustin thought.

"Yeah," Tobi agreed. _Let's see what Cam has to say_.

"Yeah, he knows everything," Dustin agreed.

"Can you two read each other's minds?" a voice asked and the two turned to see Maya leaning in the kitchen doorway.

The two glanced at each other, exchanging thoughts. "Would you like believe it if we could?" Dustin asked.

"External trans-spatial cerebral interconnection," she declared, "just like my science project."

"You mean that thing you made me wear on my head?" Dustin asked.

"And he thought you just knew his thoughts because he's such an open book," Tobi realized.

"So, how's it work?" she asked, pulling out a notebook and pen from her overalls.

"Um…" the two repeated, scratching their heads. _This might take a while_.

"I can use my science project to learn how it works," she suggested.

"Um," Dustin mumbled as he thought of what he and Tobi did together in Hunter's bed and he pictured her reading those thoughts. "On second thought, we have somewhere to be."

"The track," Tobi added and Dustin nodded along, grabbing a couple Pop Tarts and waving at his sister as the two rushed off.

* * *

Lia awoke to find Cam already gone, so she headed to the main room of Ninja Ops, where she knew he'd be hard at work as usual.

As she entered, Shane and Skyla were arriving, laughing together.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Hey, Tor—er…" Shane began.

"You can call me Lia," she replied, glancing over at Cam, who was indeed hard at work in front of his computer.

"Okay, cool," Shane agreed.

"I like it," Skyla added.

"So, spill already," Lia demanded.

"Well," Shane began, chuckling. "See, Skyla slept over—just slept," he clarified, "and my parents found us and were like, 'Is this the woman you plan to marry? Because this kind of thing will not be tolerated.' Then Skyla asked what married meant. You should have seen the looks on their faces."

"I think she can still see the look," Skyla suggested, completely serious. "They looked frozen still when we left."

"Marriage," Lia replied, sticking a finger in her mouth. "Gag me."

"I thought the explanation sounded very beautiful," Skyla argued.

"And what's that?" Lia asked. "Being stuck cleaning up after the same lazy slob for the rest of your life?"

"No, Skyla replied, confused. "he said it was being with the person you love forever."

"Oh…" Lia mumbled, again glancing at Cam.

"Hey, let's see if Cam's figured out anything about that morpher you found last night," Shane suggested, bounding over to the green ranger. "So, anything new?" he asked.

"Good morning to you too," Cam greeted. "Circuit says the configuration matches morphers belonging to alien Power Rangers from a planet called Kalindrean."

"Kalindrean?" Skyla repeated, staring at the pink morpher next to Cam.

"Did you go there in one of your forms?" Shane asked.

"Yes," she replied. "The Power Rangers there were feared for their psychic powers."

"Psychic energy," Cam realized. "So that's why conventional energy sources couldn't activate the morpher's power source to test its energy matrix."

"You're psychic," Shane suggested. "Maybe you can use it. Maybe it even _chose_ you."

"Like destiny?" she asked.

"Exactly," he agreed.

She slowly reached out and picked up the pink morpher.

"Be careful," Cam warned.

She nodded, studying the crystal embedded in the morpher. Then, as she ran her finger along its smooth surface, she froze.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked. When she didn't answer, he shook her gently. "Skyla!"

Cam reached out to take the morpher from her, but she blinked and then looked around. "I'm fine," she assured them. "I just…I saw where this has been. I saw…" She shook slightly, so Shane steadied her in his arms. "The Psychic Rangers from this dimension are different. They tried to use the morpher's power to help the people of Kalindrean. But then I saw Vexacus kill all the Psychic Rangers and take their morphers and power crystals. Then he just displayed them like…like trophies. Shimazu took this one from Vexacus' ship because he thought it looked pretty, but Vexacus killed him too… There's so much death around this morpher…" She dropped it into Cam's hand and pulled her arms away from it.

"Then it's good it found you," Shane consoled her. "You wouldn't even hurt a fly. Literally! You guys should have seen her when I explained bug spray after seeing Goldwinger's little hologram moth flying around in the other dimension's Ops."

"Well," Cam declared, "given that you managed to discover more about its origins in a couple minutes than I did in several hours…" He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "…I think you should hold onto it." He then held the morpher out for her.

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

"Cam's never wrong," Lia mused.

"I wish that were true," Cam mumbled, glancing at her, "but it seems that's more the case for you, Skyla. You are unique."

"And that's a good thing," Lia added, grinning at Cam.

"All this faith you guys have in me…" Skyla began. "I'll try not to let you down."

"Don't' worry," Shane assured her with a kiss. "You couldn't even if you tried."

She smiled before furrowing her brow. "I think someone wants to talk to you, Cam."

"Who?" he asked just as a beep sounded from Circuit and the mechanical moth lowered itself over the computer.

"Do I look good?" came the unmistakable voice of Goldwinger from the computer as the eccentric butterfly appeared onscreen.

"You always look good," Ryan replied from somewhere offscreen.

"Cam, are you there?" Goldwinger asked.

Cam turned back to the screen, stifling a groan. "Yes, I'm here Goldwinger."

"Ah, there you are, you cutie you," Goldwinger cooed. "Is that studly hunk of a man Hunter around by chance?"

"Fortunately for him, no," Cam replied. "Why?"

"No reason," Goldwinger replied dismissively with a wave of one of his winged arms. "Just need someone big and strong over here to take care of a little mess. Not that you can't do it too, you know. It's just—"

"What kind of a mess?" Shane interrupted.

"Oh, well, Mayor Lothor is off receiving some metal along with the Golden Guardians for something," Goldwinger explained. "Now, if you ask me, _I_ deserve a metal. After all, you know who was flying around healing everyone? That's right, yours truly. And who had to come home to find his precious factory destroyed? Again, poor little ol' me."

"Goldwinger, please just get to point," Cam insisted.

Lia patted him on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper, "Not much patience for giant gay butterflies. I'll remember that next time I want to torture you."

"Ah, yes," Goldwinger realized. "A few of the Power Rangers that escaped from the Abyss of Evil showed up back in Blue Bay Harbor and are wrecking havoc, picking on poor defenseless aliens like myself. You know, what Power Rangers do over here." He sighed dramatically. "If it were only one, maybe I could handle it, but…"

"We get the picture," Cam replied, glancing over at the others.

"With Lothor stuck in space, I guess we can afford to help him out," Shane agreed.

"Great…" Lia mumbled.

Just then, the other dimension's rangers entered Ninja Ops.

* * *

Hunter skidded his bike to a stop just past the finish line of the dirt track, where Waldo had already done the same. "You weren't kidding when you said you could handle Dustin's bike," he said, pulling off his helmet.

Waldo also removed his helmet. "With Dustin's memories, it came naturally and, with my understanding of physics, the combination gave me a definite advantage. That, and those jumps were killer intense. Dude, I know Dustin's afraid he'll get hurt, but I just can't get enough of them."

"The adrenaline rush," Hunter agreed.

"Right," Waldo nodded. "It's not all about being one with the track and this…Zen thing Dustin has. It's…different."

"Makes sense to me," Hunter replied, smirking as Blake pulled in beside them.

"Man, my wheel's totally dragging," Blake complained, removing his helmet.

"Keep telling yourself that, bro," Hunter chuckled as they noticed Dustin and Tobi approaching.

"Sorry, we overslept," Tobi apologized.

"And totally forgot," Dustin added, shaking his head.

"Kelly came by and reminded us last night," Hunter explained.

"So you pretended to be me?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah," Waldo replied. "Hope you don't mind."

"Nah, it's cool," Dustin replied.

"I'm glad you decided to play Dustin with us," Hunter told Waldo.

"Speaking of playing Dustin, we've got one too many right now," Blake warned, drawing their attention to Kelly, who was approaching.

Tobi glanced at Dustin, who nodded before diving behind a nearby bush. Tobi became dizzy only momentarily before he readjusted their connection. Though, when he did, the bush suddenly went flying through the air.

"What the—" Kelly called, jumping out of the way. While she was distracted, the two concentrated until a new bush grew out from the dirt.

"Did you guys see…" she began, approaching the riders and Tobi, all of whom had innocent looks on their faces. "Nevermind. Well, for the most part, your times have improved, but we should get in a few more laps if you guys want to be ready for the qualifying match in less than three hours."

Just then, a peep came from the four ninja's morphers, as well as the nearby bush. They exchanged nervous glances.

"Hey, Kell," Blake interrupted, jumping off his bike as Tobi stepped in front of the bush. "My back wheel's acting up. Maybe you could have a look?" He then nodded toward the others and they quickly jumped off their bikes and ran off, a bush running right along with them.

"I'm your sponsor, not your mechanic!" Kelly called after them.

Once they were out of sight, Dustin emerged from his bush and Tobi helped him pick leaves out of his hair.

"Go for Blake," the navy ranger said into his morpher.

"Guys," Cam's voice began, "there are some Power Rangers loose in the other dimension and my father says it's the perfect time for…the other dimension's rangers to return…home."

The rangers looked at Waldo and Tobi.

"All of them?" Hunter asked.

"I…don't think so," Cam replied uncertainly.

"TZT's not going without me," Dustin argued.

Hunter just looked at Waldo as he repeated Cam's word, "Home."

* * *

The sky outside Ninja Ops sparkled gold as both dimension's rangers watched Goldwinger's Moth Zord materialize overhead before landing nearby and knocking a few trees over in the process.

Goldwinger peaked his head out and looked around. "I'm seeing double," he declared. "Two of every studly hunk? I think I might faint." He then scampered over to the others. "And two Hunters? You know, I dreamed about this last night."

"We're glad to see you too," Hunter offered, rolling his eyes.

"Goldwinger, we missed you," Tobi agreed.

"And, dude, you missed out on _a lot_," Dustin added.

"You do know I'm only a phone call away?" Goldwinger asked. "Or a moth call," he corrected.

"We're sorry about that," Cam apologized for the others.

"We were…busy," Tori added.

"I'd love to hear all about it after we take care of our little…problem," Goldwinger offered.

"Hold up," the other dimension's Shane interrupted. "Who's the freak?"

"That'd be Goldwinger," this dimension's Shane explained to his counterpart. "And he's your only ticket home."

"Giant talking butterflies are the bomb," the other dimension's Cam insisted.

"If you say so," the other dimension's Hunter shrugged.

"Ah," Goldwinger gulped. "These are the…_evil_ Power Rangers?"

"They've changed sides," Tobi assured him.

"We whipped them into shape," Lia added.

"You wish," the other dimension's Blake commented.

Goldwinger fidgeted nervously with his wings.

"Everyone deserves a second change," Cam told the alien, "and they've more than proved themselves." He smiled at Lia.

"So, what do you say, D-Man?" the other dimension's Cam asked Waldo. "Ready to go kick some Power Ranger booty? We'll totally be able to morph again!"

"Power Rangers trashing the city is right up our alley," the other dimension's Hunter added. "And I seriously miss morphing."

Waldo looked between this dimension's Hunter and the others before asking Goldwinger, "How long do you think it would take?"

"With you studs, a month tops!" Goldwinger declared. "We just need to round them up, ship them off and then you guys can help me rebuild."

"A month?" Cam's mom repeated, looking at the others.

"What about you, Tori?" the other dimension's Shane asked Lia.

"If I have a choice, I'm never setting foot in that dump again," she snapped.

"Ouch," the other dimension's Blake commented.

"What about us?" space ninja Kapri complained.

"What about you?" the other dimension's Shane asked.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" she declared.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "Thanks."

"I don't know about you guys, but Cam and I are totally going," the other dimension's Hunter insisted. "It sounds fun."

"Then I'm taking my baby doll here with us," the other dimension's Blake said, grabbing space ninja Marah by the waist.

"We'll all go and help you guys," this dimension's Shane declared. "We're a team."

"Shane," Sensei addressed. "Your loyalty is commendable, but we can not voluntarily leave this world undefended."

"What about that field around the planet?" Dustin asked.

"My dad's right," Cam replied. "We can't all go. I guess it is time to part ways after all."

"Well, I volunteer," space ninja Kapri announced.

"Since when do you volunteer for anything?" space ninja Marah asked, confused.

"When it involves kicking Power Ranger butts," she explained.

"It figures," Tori mumbled.

"I'm coming!" space ninja Marah insisted. "Blake won't let you leave me behind!"

"And I try so hard," space ninja Kapri grumbled.

"Fairy elf dude," the other dimension's Cam called. "You coming?"

"Yeah, we didn't mean to treat you the way we did," the other dimension's Hunter added.

"You're cool," the other dimension's Shane said simply.

Tobi looked from them to Dustin and then back again. "You know I never belonged there."

"Yeah, we're sorry about that," the other dimension's Hunter apologized.

"You _can_ belong," the other dimension's Shane added.

Tobi smiled at them, but shook his head. "I belong here," he told them. "Home is where the heart is and this is my home. Even if I thought Dustin and I could travel between dimension's with our connection, this crazy world where kelzaks and aliens are bad guys and the president is some human… It's home." He took Dustin's hand in his and smiled up at the brunette, who smiled back.

"I guess I have no choice," grumpy Sensei grumbled. "They'll be helplessly lost if I don't go with them. They'd probably end up joining the other rangers and trashing the city with them." He looked up at his wife.

"You don't even need to ask," Cam's mom assured the guinea pig. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me." She then turned to this dimension's Cam. "Just because you're not my Cam doesn't mean I won't miss you. I should have treated you better when we first met. You're a good kid, Cam. A little too serious sometimes, but I guess you get that from your version of Kanoi."

"The boring me," grumpy Sensei clarified for his wife.

"You may be different than my real mother," Cam told her, "but…I've enjoyed having you around. Good luck."

"And you make sure these kids behave themselves," grumpy Sensei told the other guinea pig.

"Of course," Sensei agreed. "And…you gave me a great deal to think about."

"Likewise," grumpy Sensei nodded his little head before realizing something and removing his hat. "Here," he called, tossing it at Sensei. "The one I knocked off your head is still back in our dimension."

"Thank you," Sensei said, placing the hat on his head.

"Still looks better on me, but whatever," grumpy Sensei commented, shrugging.

"We don't have to go back, do we?" Geo asked, holding Destiny protectively.

"Sensei, does that means we can stay?" hippy Kapri asked.

"If you wish to," Sensei offered. "You may choose your destiny." He nodded toward grumpy Sensei.

"Yay!" Geo cheered, dancing with Destiny.

"Then say 'bye' to uncle for us if you see him," space ninja Marah told her hippy counterparts. "Like, under all the meanness and trying to take over the earth, he's actually—"

"A nice guy?" hippy Marah interrupted, shocked.

"A total dick," space ninja Kapri corrected and space ninja Marah nodded.

"Oh," hippy Marah and Kapri mumbled, exchanging looks.

"So…I guess we'll be in touch?" the other dimension's Blake asked Lia.

She shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." Cam cleared his throat and she added, "I mean, yeah, we will."

"Oh, all these farewells are making me cry," Goldwinger blubbered, sobbing into his wings before blowing his nose on a rainbow handkerchief.

The group exchanged hugs and goodbyes before parting ways, the other dimension's Shane, Hunter, Blake and Cam with grumpy Sensei, Cam's mom and space ninja Marah and Kapri heading toward Goldwinger's Zord.

"Remember, so long as you have your little golden friend Circuit, we'll never be too far away!" Goldwinger called as he and his passengers boarded his Zord.

The remaining group waved as the Zord lifted off the ground before vanishing in a flash of sparkling gold dust.

Tobi looked from the tiny fragments of gold over to Dustin and smiled. _Home for good_, he thought.

Dustin just kissed him on the lips.

"What're we gonna do now?" Geo asked, looking around at the others.

"The motocross qualifying match for nationals is about to start," Blake suggested.

"What's motocross?" Geo asked.

"You never saw motocross, Geodude?" Dustin asked. "Aw, man, we have to bring you."

"I'll let you play yourself again," Waldo offered Dustin. "I'm thinking of taking up _freestyle_."

"Freestyle?" Dustin repeated. "Isn't that like kinda dangerous? That's why I stopped."

"It's not as dangerous if you calculate the velocity in relation to the gravity and motionary dynamics," Waldo explained.

"Right," Dustin mumbled, glancing at Tobi.

"I guess I could try it," Tobi replied to some unspoken thought.

"Try what?" Hunter asked.

"Try racing with you guys," Tobi explained.

"Last time you kept complaining about your seatbelt being too tight," Hunter reminded him. "You never even made it to the track."

"That was before he had my awesomeness in him," Dustin bragged.

"Yep, I'm filled with your awesomeness alright," Tobi chuckled. "Lots and lots of your awesomeness."

"What does awesomeness look like?" Skyla asked Shane.

"Um, I'll tell you later," he mumbled.

"With the field around the earth, I doubt Lothor will try anything again soon," Cam began, turning to Lia. "So… I was wondering if you'd like to…go out."

"On a date?" she asked, surprised.

"As much as I know how it works," he replied sheepishly.

"Do it, Tori," Tobi encouraged his sister. "He's a great guy. _I'd_ date Cam if I weren't in love with Dustin." He winked at Cam.

"It's _Lia_ now," she corrected, "and I already know that, little brother. He's a great guy indeed."

"Lia?" Dustin repeated. "Awesome."

"I believe you have all earned some time off," Sensei announced, "but we will continue training tomorrow. Lothor will not be content to be trapped where he is. And, we do have the other ninja students to rescue."

"Sensei's right," Tori agreed.

"Don't worry, we'll help," hippy Marah added.

"And Destiny will help too!" Geo insisted.

"Lothor's really met his match this time," Shane laughed.

"Yep," Tobi agreed. "Together, we're unstoppable."

* * *

_**One Month Later…**_

* * *

Lothor stood below a massive, towering Megazord in the darkened lower level of his space fortress. He suddenly lowered a scroll he was reading as he heard someone entering the room.

"How did you get in here?" he snapped, looking up to see Vexacus approaching, his hands behind his back.

"It was a simple matter of scrambling the lock," the shark-like alien replied dismissively.

"I should destroy you were you stand," Lothor threatened, tightening his grip on the scroll.

"But you won't," Vexacus replied. "Who else would you have to turn to? Choobo or a few dozen kelzaks?" He chuckled.

"I'm surprised you haven't destroyed them by now too," Lothor grumbled.

Vexacus shrugged, glancing up at the Megazord. "A Zord," he commented. "And here I thought you'd been spending the entire past month reading the Scroll of Destiny and missing your nieces."

Lothor quickly pulled the scroll closer.

"Oh, yes, I know all about that particular scroll," Vexacus mused, still approaching with his hands behind his back. "And, while you've been in here tinkering with a way to open the Abyss of Evil, I've been busy myself."

Lothor narrowed his eyes as the shark-like alien pulled a glowing sword from behind his back. Instantly, yellow flames erupted along its surface as it expanded in size and the alien chuckled, diving his sword toward Lothor. But, the space ninja simply sidestepped away, the scroll still in one hand.

"I happen to be more than just a bounty hunter," the alien commented, spinning his sword and sending out a wave of energy. "I'm also a collector and your head…along with the scroll and the Gem fragments will make a perfect addition to my trophy collection."

Lothor raised his single free hand and deflected the beam. Then, with a quick jump into the air, the space ninja sent a blast of purple energy down on the shark-like alien. The energy instantly dissolved the powerful new weapon in Vexacus' hands as if it were paper caught in a violet fire.

Lothor finished his leap by landing on Vexacus' chest, the alien grunting under his weight. "I could destroy you this very moment," he breathed down on the alien, "and add _your_ head to _my_ trophy collection."

Vexacus could do little more than grunt under the pressure.

"But I'll give you one more chance," Lothor offered, lifting himself off the alien.

"Th—thank you, sir," Vexacus choked out, his confident tone gone.

Lothor gestured to a pedestal that held three crystal fragments. "You fetched those pieces of the Gem of Souls from the ocean floor for me. Now you will help me complete them so I can power this newly completed Megazord and use it to open the Abyss of Evil."

"Of course," Vexacus agreed, pulling himself to his feet as Lothor stepped away. "What did you have in mind?"

"I'm sure you're not surprised I don't trust you," Lothor began, waving a hand.

The alien just nodded.

"I will complete the Gem myself," the space ninja continued. "You and Choobo will be a…_distraction_."

"As you wish," Vexacus grumbled.

"I do," Lothor replied, pulling a small device from his outfit and attaching it with a loud snap to Vexacus' head.

"What are you doing?" the shark-headed alien asked.

"Just a little insurance that things go my way," Lothor replied, grinning wickedly. "Let's just say, if Choobo fails to force the Power Rangers to join the rest of the ninja students in capture, they will meet a very _explosive_ end."

Vexacus grumbled inwardly, but said nothing.

"Now, get out of here," Lothor snapped. "By now, the Power Rangers will have become complacent and vulnerable. The fragments of the Gem of Souls I have will get us through that field my nephew set up around the planet and then…" He began laughing to himself.

Vexacus just backed out of the room, reaching up to feel the device stuck into his head…a head that was actually a helmet.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes:** So, yeah, the one month that goes by not only gives Lothor a chance to make that big Megazord seen in the last episode of the series ("Storm Before the Calm"), but it also represents the time that has passed since I last wrote a chapter… So, yeah, the next chapter will have more of a sense that time has passed. And, please don't hate me too much… Review and tell me your thoughts on my return to the world of Parallel Realities Ninja Storm, what you thought about this chapter and what you want to see next! Be honest, even brutally so!  
_


	43. Lothor's Revenge

**Author's Notes: **At last, the long awaited continuation of the story! Hey, at least it didn't take 8 months! And at last we get to see the first part of Lothor's evil plan. This is more of a build-up chapter to the real action in the next chapter. Yes, we're approaching the end of the story, but there's still a lot more left to happen. No, no, it's not over yet! If you've been with Parallel Realities Ninja Storm this far, you know to expect the unexpected!

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**Review Comments: **

Thanks **griffin blackwood **for complimenting my sandwichmaking skills! ;p Also, thanks for continuing to stick with all my other stories too! I've only been watching PRS off and on, so I don't know a whole lot about the series, but maybe I'll take a look. I didn't get any notice of anything new from you in my email, so I don't know if the alert isn't working or it's not posted yet. I guess it's probably that you're waiting since you like to be done or pretty far along first.

Thanks **YellowPrincess** for your sweet review despite me making you wait so long! I'm really sorry to make you so mad! Hopefully you're not quite as mad with me this time. I mean, it's like what, 4 months? Ugh, okay, so that's still not good. I'm so sorry! It's kind of hard to get back into this story. I never should have taken that break from it a year ago. Had I just kept going, I think I could have finished it a long time ago. Well, I can't change the past. Anyway, I try to include lots of different things in here that I think you'll enjoy, but I also focus on Lothor's unfolding plot. I guess we'll see what you think… *crosses fingers* And I'll try to be better about the next chapter…

Thanks **witch20 **for the encouragement! I'm glad you like the story and I hope you're not too upset about it taking so long again.

Thanks **LadySociopath009 **for another great pep talk! ;p I missed our short talks too, but I sort of fell out of sync with the story and it's still hard to get back into the feel of it. It seems like it has so much emotional depth in some of those earlier chapters that it's hard to get back. And I'm relieved you're so understanding and, yes, that made perfect sense. I'd hate to become one of those authors who just stops. It seems like I see that a lot on stories I subscribed to. And, I mention the Psychic Rangers briefly in here. In fact, I had to come up with a planet name and so I looked through the list of Power Ranger planets on The Morphing Grid but I didn't think any of them fit, so I just made one up based on the letters ESP. Again, thanks for the encouragement and hopefully the next chapter will come sooner. Hey, 4 months is shorter than 8, so we're getting there! Next time 2 months? We'll see!

Thanks **Ghostwriter **for the praise! Glad you're still following this story and still enjoy it so much!

Thanks **Rye Lee** for all the reviews and welcome to the PRNS review team! And, of course the story's been different than you expected. Most of the time I had no idea what I was going to do next so I surprised myself! ;p Sure, it makes it confusing sometimes, but at least it sounds like you still enjoy it in the end. And I'm glad you like all the coupling possibilities, since I love to mix things up. Since you just now joined the story, this update probably doesn't seem that long, but the next update might not be as soon. Just a warning…

Thanks **Aqua786 **for your super long review! Where do I start? First off, welcome and thanks for reading my story! Glad you got into PRNS and I totally agree about the hot guys! And, okay, so some parts do sound like Goldwinger (yes, you got the name right), but I like Goldwinger! I think everyone was sort of "boo Tobi" at the beginning, but then his character developed over time and people started to sympathize with him, so I totally understand. As for a sequel, I'm having enough trouble finishing this one, so I'm not going to rush into a sequel just yet. Though…I admit that I have a very interesting idea for a sequel. It would take place during Dino Thunder but still follow the Ninjas and have some major twists. That is, if I ever get that far. Oh, and don't worry, you didn't miss anything in that month. I made sure nothing major happened so that no one missed anything. The month gave Lothor a chance to plan things out and prep his Megazord. Um, as far as the characters having flings (like Hunter/Tobi or Waldo/Tobi), we'll see… Let's just say that I have something planned out in the next few chapters that might make one of those a possibility… But I won't spoil it for you! And I'll update Dustin in Heat as well! Anything else you want? ;p Hope you enjoy the chapter!

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Dustin's mom offers her support of Dustin and Tobi's relationship and Dustin's sister discovers they can communicate telepathically. Hunter and Waldo become closer, though Blake is slightly jealous before Hunter convinces him to call Tori. Back at Ninja Ops, Cam confesses his love for Tobi's sister, who takes on the name Lia. Meanwhile, Skyla uses her psychic powers to discover more about the origins of the pink morpher she found in the woods near the remains of Shimazu and Condortron. Later, Goldwinger contacts the group and needs help rounding up evil rangers. The other dimension's Shane, Hunter, Blake and Cam leave with space ninjas Marah and Kapri and grumpy Sensei and Cam's mom. And, with Lothor stuck in space, the remaining ninjas enjoy a well deserved month long peace and quiet. But, a month later, after Vexacus betrays Lothor but is outmatched, Lothor forces him to become a tool in the capture or destruction of the Power Rangers. We also learn that Lothor has spend the month completing a Megazord that he plans to power by combining the pieces of the Gem of Souls that he has with those that the rangers have…**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 43 (Lothor's Revenge)**

* * *

Vexacus stood in front of the viewscreen on the bridge of Lothor's ship, watching the scene from a month before, when he had been warned off the planet by the Power Rangers. "I will have my revenge," he growled at the screen as he rubbed the device that Lothor had attached to the side of his helmet.

"Trying to learn from your failures?" a voice suddenly interrupted the alien and he quickly turned to see Lothor entering with Choobo.

"Just considering…strategies," Vexacus answered, watching his leader with silent contempt.

Lothor approached, patting the alien's shoulder. "Good, because failure isn't even an option." He glanced at the device on what he thought was Vexacus' head and chuckled to himself before suddenly stopping and staring at the screen.

"Yeah, that's my favorite part too," Choobo announced as the screen showed the rangers all sucked into the compartment on Choobo's back, except for Tobi and Skyla. "You want me to make some popcorn?"

"Shut up," Lothor snapped, not looking away from the screen.

"But do you want me to make popcorn too while I shut up?" Choobo asked.

Lothor chose to ignore this comment as Vexacus leaned closer, studying the space ninja. "What do you see?" he asked.

Lothor blinked, stepping back. "By now you've probably figured out that's a bomb stuck on your ugly face," he explained, still looking lost in thought. "And don't bother trying to remove it, as you can't." He turned to face Vexacus. "My plan was simply to destroy you and the rangers together with a simple press of a button, but that's become a last resort. I want the Power Rangers captured, all of them, my nieces included." He paused, smiling. "All but one, that is."

"Who?" Vexacus asked.

"The gold ranger," Lothor replied, turning back to the screen and watching as Tobi struggled on the ground while Skyla protected him. "Somehow he's connected to the yellow ranger that Zurgane killed and he brought back to life. When they're separated, he's weakened and helpless."

"And easily defeated," Vexacus finished.

"But not by you," Lothor snapped, turning back to the shark-like alien. "He will be mine to deal with…in my own special way." He took a breath and, for a brief moment, Vexacus thought he saw weakness in the space ninja and the glimpse encouraged him. "Zurgane may have failed me too many times to count, but he was my most loyal general, the only one I could trust… I thought I could trust my nieces…" He slammed a fist down on the controls in front of him, stopping the video before it could reach the part where his nieces betrayed their own uncle. "This is all that bratty blond boy's fault. Had he never come to this dimension, everything would be different now. My nieces…Zurgane..." He growled. "No, a quick death is too good for him." He turned quickly to glare at Vexacus. "Understood?"

"He's proven to be extremely powerf—" Vexacus began to argue.

"_Understood_?" Lothor repeated.

"Understood," the shark-like alien relented and Lothor smiled, turning toward the exit.

"Is it popcorn time?" Choobo asked as the space ninja passed him.

"No," Lothor quipped. "It's time to go. Everything is now ready. The Power Rangers will never know what hit them."

"And neither will you," Vexacus whispered, following his leader and Choobo. "You won't be the only one fulfilling your need for revenge today."

* * *

"There," Waldo said, as he and Cam sat in front of Ninja Ops' main computer console. And, although it was becoming increasingly less and less common as time went by, the rest of team was elsewhere in the room, sparring. "That should expand the DNA search radius to finally cover the entire planet."

"You bounced the signal off foreign weather satellites," Cam realized, studying the screen. "But…still nothing. No form of alien presence anywhere."

"I was kinda hoping we'd detect something by now," Waldo continued.

"Yeah," Cam agreed. "We've been getting more and more out of practice since we set up the field around the planet. Even my father's become a little lax with training."

"There hasn't really been a need for training," Waldo pointed out.

Cam shrugged. "It just doesn't feel right."

Just then, Sensei hopped over to the two and studied the scans onscreen. "I agree you, son," he spoke up. "Lothor has been far too quiet this past month. Also, I will endeavor to increase your training regimen."

"Maybe Vexacus killed him and took over," Waldo suggested.

"You don't think Lothor's finally given up or possibly even thought better of things and just…left?" Cam asked, not even really believing himself.

"Alas," the guinea pig teacher sighed. "Despite Tobi's continued hopes for my brother's redemption, I am certain that is the last thing he would do. This prolonged silence can only mean one thing."

"That our field has trapped him in space permanently?" Waldo offered.

"Sadly, no," Sensei replied. "It can only mean that he is planning his biggest attack yet."

"It does seem suspicious he hasn't tried to break the transport inhibiting field or just fly a ship down here," Cam agreed.

Waldo tried not to groan. It figured that Cam would take his father's side, but the field had been such a good idea and there hadn't been a single attack. Sure he was getting a little bored, but the last time they had went up against Lothor, they had all nearly died. He couldn't go through that again.

"When his attack comes, I fear it will be well coordinated," Sensei added.

"It's not like we've been slacking off here," Waldo insisted. "Cam and I have increased the field's strength and expanded our sensor scans."

Cam could sense some of the tension and defensiveness in Waldo's voice, so he added, "Waldo's right. The only way anything could slip past is if it were ironically phased to the exact inverse of the field," Cam explained, "and the amount and type of energy necessary for that would be more than even our morphing grid could provide. It would have to be something like…" He thought for a moment. "The gem of souls," he realized. "That's why Vexacus wanted the pieces we have."

Sensei nodded. "And why my insistence on keeping it here was a wise choice."

"Hunter told me you threw the rest of the pieces into the ocean," Waldo recalled.

Cam sighed. "I had thought that was all of them."

"He didn't mean to lie to you," Waldo defended his boyfriend.

"I know," Cam admitted. Besides, if Lothor somehow found those pieces, why would he be after the pieces we have? What would he need all that power for?"

"Let us hope we do not find out the answer to that question," Sensei stated. "Now, you two should continue your training." He gestured his tiny hands to the sparring ninjas crowding the rest of Ninja Ops. "After all, I have been 'lax'."

Waldo stared at Cam, who groaned.

"I know, I asked for it," Cam admitted.

"Lia still not going easy on you?" Waldo teased.

"Never," Cam agreed.

"I don't expect that'll ever change," Waldo said, patting Cam's shoulder. "I kinda like a challenge myself."

"She's definitely a challenge," Cam agreed, turning to watch Lia sparing with Tobi. "And I also enjoy a challenge." A grin curled up on his lips.

Just then, a beeping sound came from Circuit and the mechanical moth hovered over to the computer.

Shane was the first to stop sparring with Skyla when he heard the noise. "Is Lothor finally attacking?" he asked.

"What?" Kapri asked, turning just as Marah was throwing a punch.

"I'm _so_ sorry," Marah apologized.

"For what?" Kapri asked, confused.

"For hitting you," Marah explained.

"I thought you were tapping me lightly to get my attention," Kapri replied seriously.

"Where's grumpy Sensei when you need a snide comment?" Lia mumbled.

"Lothor isn't attacking," Cam announced as the ninjas gathered around the computer. "It's a message coming through Circuit."

"You almost sounded like you _wanted_ Lothor to be attacking," Tori joked, patting Shane's side.

"Shane's right," Dustin defended. "It's been like _forever_ since he tried anything."

"It feels weird is all," Shane added.

"Sometimes I'd rather face Lothor than that freaky butterfly," Blake commented, drawing their attention to the screen just as Goldwinger's image appeared.

"Goldwinger, we were just talking about you," Lia greeted, jabbing Blake's side while Tori stifled a laugh at her boyfriend's expense.

"Ah, my friends, I've missed you too," Goldwinger greeted.

"Let us talk," a voice growled offscreen.

"Alright, alright," Goldwinger agreed, fluttering offscreen as the other dimension's rangers appeared.

"We caught them all," the other dimension's Shane said simply.

"You apprehended all the escaped Power Rangers?" Cam asked.

"Piece of cake," the other dimension's Hunter agreed, high fiving his dimension's Shane.

"So, does that mean you're coming back here or…" Cam began, trailing off.

"You guys need help over there?" the other dimension's Blake offered. "Because we're seriously unstoppable. Especially because I'm part of the team."

"You mean because _I'm_ in charge," his dimension's Shane argued.

"Lothor hasn't shown his ugly face around here since you guys left," this dimension's Shane explained.

"Not even a kelzak," Hunter agreed.

"Dudes, we gots plenty of the those over here," the other dimension's Cam commented. "Want some?"

"Uh, that's alright," this dimension's Cam told his counterpart. "So, for the time being, it looks like both dimensions are safe."

"There's something I never thought would happen," Tobi commented, earning a nod from the others.

"In that case," grumpy Sensei announced, hopping onscreen with his wife, "we'll stay here until you need us."

"Or if _you_ need _us_," Lia added.

"Like that'll happen," the other dimension's rangers laughed.

"What about the other us?" hippy Marah asked, approaching the screen with Kapri.

"And go back to our uncle?" space ninja Kapri scoffed onscreen. "This Lothor lets us get away with things our uncle would never let us do. He's such a pushover."

"He lets us have so much fun!" space ninja Marah agreed, clapping her hands.

"Go easy on him," hippy Kapri pleaded.

"Whatever," space ninja Kapri waved a hand dismissively.

"You guys can come here and visit," Cam's mom offered onscreen. "You know, keep the kids in line."

"I can keep them in line just fine by myself," grumpy Sensei argued.

"I can see that," she replied, visibly rolling her eyes. "That's why Cam blew up the computer."

"He blew up my computer!" Waldo shouted.

"Aw, it was so cool!" the other dimension's Cam announced. "It was like kaboom! Poof!"

Waldo groaned.

"Don't blow a gasket D-Man," the other dimension's Hunter assured him. "Kapri fixed it."

"Yeah, she's _full_ of surprises," the other dimension's Shane said with a smirk, pulling the pink haired space ninja to him.

"And you're just full of it," she joked.

"You know you like it," he growled.

"Maybe," she said, grinning.

Waldo looked at Cam, who just shrugged.

"So, you coming?" the other dimension's Cam asked.

"Um, thanks but…" Tori began.

"Yeah, we aren't in a hurry to get back there," Hunter said, making a face. "Not the best memories."

"Not the best memories?" Goldwinger started to ask, fluttering back onscreen.

"Tell you what, if Lothor continues to keep quiet, we might visit," Cam offered. When he noticed the looks on the others' faces, he mouthed the words _'I'm being polite.'_

"We can get some pizza ice cream," Tobi and Dustin agreed.

"I am getting a taste for human milk," Blake agreed, winking at Tori.

"It is _not_ going to happen again," she told the younger Bradley. "Marah and Kapri just talked Lia and me into it that _one time_."

"We'll make you some more!" hippy Marah and Kapri offered.

"Um…thanks, but I'm okay," Blake mumbled.

"You're always welcome here," Goldwinger insisted.

"Thanks, Goldwinger," Cam replied.

"And…other me," the other dimension's Shane interrupted. "Tell Porter… tell him I…" He looked like he was struggling to find the words.

"You love him?" Shane suggested.

The other dimension's Shane cringed. "Tell him he's alright," he snapped. "That's all."

"Will do," Shane agreed, smiling.

"Trust us," Lia whispered to Shane, "that's more emotions than I've ever heard from him."

"Besides anger," Tobi added, his sister nodding.

"Later, dudes," the other dimension's Cam hollered, waving onscreen.

"Remember to use my little mechanical moth friend to keep in touch," Goldwinger added as the group once again exchanged goodbyes before the screen went blank.

"Both dimensions are safe," Tobi commented quietly to himself.

Dustin just nodded.

"So, who wants to watch the motocross nationals with us?" Blake asked. "We might not have won the regional competition, but…"

"That's my fault," Waldo confessed.

"It's not like any of us were up to par after our fight with Vexacus," Hunter offered, comforting Waldo. "Besides, it gave us more time to practice for the US Action Games. We'll definitely sweep those."

"Even I'm getting motocross down," Tobi bragged.

"You have all Dustin's memories," Lia pointed out. "I think that's cheating."

He hit her playfully.

"So, watcha say?" Blake asked.

"Me and Skyla have a nice quiet evening planned," Shane said, grinning at his girlfriend. "In fact, I think we should start now," he added, taking Skyla in an arm.

"I _sense_ we'll have a good time," she said playfully.

He stared at her for a moment. "You made a joke."

"I've been practicing," she explained.

"Maybe we can practice together tonight," he said as the two left.

"So, anyone else?" Blake asked. "Motocross nationals only comes once a year."

"That's tonight?" Tori asked. "Our families are having dinner together."

"Right," Dustin remembered. "My dad's in town. He…hasn't met Tobi yet." He bit his bottom lip nervously.

"I'm sure he'll like our brother," Tori offered.

"He better," Lia added, making a fist pounding motion.

"You're both going?" Blake asked.

"Our parents already know about the whole other dimension thing," Tori explained. "Even I was surprised by how cool they're with the whole thing."

"The only part we're not sure about is how Dustin's dad will react to everything," Tobi added, sending his boyfriend comforting thoughts.

"What about you?" Hunter asked Waldo. "Are you going?"

"Uh," Waldo replied, running a hand through his hair as he watched Tobi and Dustin. "It'll be weird enough without me. I'd just make things more…complicated."

"They're your parents too now, dude," Dustin insisted.

Waldo blinked. "Yeah, I know. It's just… You know how your—our mom reacts to things."

"She'd freak out," Dustin agreed, nodding. "But we can't keep swapping places all the time. We have to tell her sometime."

"I know that your parents kicked you out back in our dimension," Tobi told Waldo, "and that's why you stayed in Ops, so you probably think you don't need a family since you got by alright without one. But—"

"Tobs, I have a family," Waldo corrected, smiling at him.

"Right," Tobi agreed, smiling back.

"So, you wanna join our little _family_ viewing of the motocross nationals?" Hunter asked.

"Sure," Waldo agreed.

"Can I watch too?" Geo begged.

Hunter glanced between Waldo and Blake. "I guess a Bradley Sandwich is out of the question then."

Blake glared at his brother.

Tobi winced as Dustin's mind drifted to exactly what a Bradley Sandwich with Waldo in the middle would look like. "Come on, Dustin," he interrupted his boyfriend's thoughts. "Let's go."

"Sure, TZT," Dustin grinned, blushing. _So that Bradley Sandwich wasn't hot?_ he thought.

_Not really my taste,_ Tobi thought back. _I'd prefer a Dustin Sandwich_. He supplied an image to go with the thought.

"Yeah, let's get back to my bed—er, my house," Dustin agreed, quickly leading his boyfriend off.

"Can I have a Bradley Sandwich?" Geo asked.

Hunter looked at his brother, nervous.

"Hey, don't look at me," Blake argued. "You started the whole Bradley Sandwich thing."

"Trust me, one day I'll get you to agree to one, bro," Hunter insisted.

'You two aren't talking about what I think you're talking about, are you?" Tori asked.

"Pretty much," Blake groaned. "Just because we're close doesn't mean we should share someone—share another ingredient."

Lia watched Tori look between the two Thunder brothers, first from the brunette and then to the blond, and decided to fan her sister's face with her hands. "Yeah, that ain't gonna happen," she said, dragging Tori away.

"I wasn't picturing it!" Tori insisted as her sister hurried her off.

"I was thinking of a _Tori Sandwich_ myself," Blake whispered.

"That makes two of us," Hunter agreed, high fiving his brother.

"I'm amazed she likes either of you, let alone both," Cam commented the moment the two Toris were gone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake asked defensively.

"Girls appreciate maturity," Cam explained simply.

"I'm mature," Blake insisted.

"Not as mature as your _older_ bro," Hunter argued.

"Older, but not wiser," Blake countered.

"Yeah, you're a real wise ass," Hunter threw back.

"So that makes you just an ass," Blake replied, laughing.

"Yeah, a fine piece of ass," Hunter bragged, smirking.

"So true," Waldo, Cam and even Blake all agreed before staring at each other.

"Mmm," Hunter murmured. "Anyone else getting a craving for fruit salad?"

Blake once again glared at his brother while Cam and Waldo continued exchanging looks.

"We are!" Marah and Kapri exclaimed together. "We're starving!"

As Hunter looked bewildered, Blake decided it was time for a facepalm.

"So, cousin, are you going to watch motocross with us?" Marah asked.

"Us?" Blake repeated, but the hippies ignored him.

"Um…" Cam mumbled. "Actually, Lia wants me to join her at the Hanson's and you know I can't argue with her."

"That means more fruit salad for us!" Kapri cooed.

"We can't all leave Ninja Ops, can we?" Waldo asked Cam.

"It is alright," Sensei said, hopping over. "Circuit and I will continue to monitor the field."

"Thanks, dad," Cam said sincerely.

"However, beginning tomorrow, I _will_ be increasing your training regimen," the guinea pig finished.

Cam and Waldo just nodded.

"Better make tonight count," Blake commented.

"I have an idea how to make it memorable," Hunter teased.

"And I thought Lothor was scary," the younger Bradley groaned.

"Lothor's not scary," Geo insisted. "He probably ran away."

"I hope you're right," Marah said.

"We all do," Cam agreed, glancing at his father.

* * *

Lothor stared at the collection of multicolored morphers and matching crystals on the wall of Vexacus' ship as Choobo entered and Vexacus checked the ship's instruments.

"Ooh, pretty," Choobo said, reaching for a crystal.

Lothor slapped the alien's hand away. "Where did you get these?" the space ninja asked.

"Just some…souvenirs from Esparia," Vexacus commented dismissively. "You wouldn't have heard of it."

"I was in space a long time before finally being able to return to Earth for revenge," Lothor corrected. "So, you destroyed the Psychic Power Rangers?"

"The six of them never saw it coming," Vexacus chuckled. "So much for being psychic."

"I only count four," Choobo commented.

"Five," Lothor corrected, "though I'm amazed you can count beyond two."

Vexacus spun around in the pilot's seat and stared at the wall. "The pink morpher and power crystal is missing," he noted. "It must be that fool Shimazu. I heard him compliment your neice's hair color before. He must have taken it when you ordered us to team up."

Lothor turned to glare at the alien. "Then I certainly hope you did a _thorough_ job disposing of your 'teammate'," he growled.

"Even if the Power Rangers found the morpher, they would never be able to operate it," Vexacus argued. "Not unless one of them is psychic."

"You better hope you're right," Lothor commented, "for your sake." He pulled out his Personal Alien Manager. "I have only to press a single button. Now move aside. I'm flying this contraption."

"It's my ship," the shark-like alien pointed out. "_I_ built her and _I_ will fly her."

"Since _I_ integrated the fragments of the Gem of Souls into the engine and only _I_ know how to use them to get us through my nephew's field undetected, I'll fly," Lothor corrected, shoving Vexacus aside and sitting in the pilot's chair. "Too bad you didn't install a couple more seats," he added while familiarizing himself with the controls. "This may get a little rough and I'd hate for you two to be…uncomfortable." He chuckled as he started the engine and turned on the shield that was tied into the gem fragments.

Behind the space ninja, Vexacus grumbled something unintelligible as the ship took off and prepared to pass through the transport inhibiting field around the planet without being detected. The two aliens were promptly thrown against the walls with a loud thud, causing Lothor to laugh harder.

* * *

Dustin and Tobi paced back and forth in the Hanson's kitchen. They were trying to reassure each other, but instead their combined thoughts made their connected worries mix and overpower them.

"You two are even making _me_ nervous," Lia commented.

"Come on, guys, everything will be fine," Tori reassured her brother and best friend.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"That's him!" Dustin squeaked. "Should I hold your hand or would that like be too obvious?"

"I'll get it," Ali said, chuckling and shaking her head.

"Do you think I should mention I'm into motocross too?" Tobi asked as Tori's younger sister left the room. "You know, as a bonding thing."

"Or maybe I should just come out and say I fell in love with him when we were trapped in another dimension by the other us," Dustin suggested.

"I don't know about that one," Lia advised.

"It looks like time's up," Tori said as footsteps could be heard approaching the kitchen.

"Dad, I'm in love with Tobi Hanson, Tori's twin brother from another dimension," Dustin announced just as someone entered the kitchen.

But, to their surprise, it wasn't Dustin's dad. It was Cam.

"What are you doing here?" Lia asked.

"You told me to come," Cam reminded her, looking confused.

"And you listened to me?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied flatly.

"Ah, the reliable one," she sighed. "Cam, you're just who we need right now to calm these two down."

"Um, I'll try," he offered, still confused.

"Are you two still pacing around in here?" Mrs. Hanson said, entering the kitchen with her husband.

"We're about to eat," Mr. Hanson added.

"But what about my parents?" Dustin asked.

"They called to say they're running a little late and wanted us to start without them," Mrs. Brooks explained, opening the oven.

"Didn't Ali tell you?" Mr. Brooks asked.

"No, she didn't," Tori said, eyeing her sister.

Ali shrugged. "Hey, it was too much fun watching them," she explained.

Tori sighed while Lia high fived Ali.

"Hey!" Tobi protested.

"All's fair in love and war, little brother," Lia stated. "Now, I'm thinking of popping up from under the table and going with the evil twin thing. What do you think?"

"Definitely," Ali agreed.

Tori groaned and followed the others into the dining room.

"I'm just going to make a quick call before we eat, Cam whispered to Tori, who nodded.

"Power Ranger stuff?" Ali whispered.

Tori nodded, putting a finger to her lips as she joined her sisters.

* * *

Geo cheered while sitting directly in front of the tv at the Bradley brothers' apartment. Onscreen, motocross bikes were tearing up the track, dirt flying everywhere. "See that, Destiny?" he asked the dog in his lap. "I'm gonna be just like that when I grow up. I'm gonna be all vroom!" He then pretended to ride a bike around the living room. Poor Destiny was the bike.

Marah giggled while reaching for some popcorn, only to discover an empty bowl. "It looks like we're out of popcorn," she realized.

"I'll help make more!' Geo volunteered. "I know how!"

"Okay, let's go," Kapri agreed, her and Marah leading the boy toward the kitchen.

"I don't know about you, but I think we could have beat these guys easily," Blake commented once it was just him and Hunter on the couch with Waldo between them.

"Yeah, they don't look very fast to me," Hunter agreed. "And their moves aren't anything special."

"They don't compare to your moves," Waldo grinned, throwing an arm over the blond's shoulder.

Blake rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I saw that," Hunter scolded. "You're just jealous."

"Am not," Blake huffed. "I'm over that now."

"I'll have to ask Tori about that," Hunter replied skeptically.

"Come on," Waldo interrupted. "You two are brothers. Enough with the arguing."

The two frowned.

"Now kiss and make up," Waldo continued, trying to hide a smile.

The two stared at him.

"Sorry, it was kinda hot that one time," Waldo explained. "But, if you don't have the _courage_ to do it, I understand."

The two brothers glanced between each other and the earth ninja.

"One last time?" Hunter suggested, smirking.

Blake thought for a moment. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Probably," Hunter said, "but that's never stopped you before. You tend to regret everything you do with your mouth."

Blake sighed, rolling his eyes before reluctantly leaning forward. The two moved their faces toward each other, closing their eyes until…

Waldo stuck his head between the two and the Thunder brothers kissed him on each side of his face.

The two promptly opened their eyes as Waldo chuckled.

"You tricked us," Hunter realized.

Waldo just shrugged. "Don't think I didn't figure out what the whole 'Bradley Sandwich' this was all about. I'm a genius, remember?"

Blake pouted, crossing his arms. "You two are _made_ for each other."

"Oh, come on, bro," Hunter urged. "It was just a peck. We've both kissed Tori and even Tobi on the lips."

"Yeah, that was weird," Blake agreed.

"Look, I'm sorry for tricking you guys," Waldo said, using Dustin's memories to make his infamous puppy dog eyes.

"You're forgiven," Hunter said, kissing his boyfriend on the lips before looking over at his brother. "So, about that Bradley Sandwich…"

"Strawberry and blueberry jam with peanut butter in between," Waldo commented.

"You really _have_ been paying attention," Hunter laughed. "Whatcha say, bro?"

"Alright, you're forgiven," Blake agreed, adding, "but that doesn't mean we're gonna have a threesome."

Hunter leaned over, whispering to Waldo, "Play along." Then he said, louder, "I guess there's no point in seeing who's the better kisser, since we all know I'd win."

"That's true," Waldo agreed, leaning into Hunter. "Strawberry's my favorite flavor anyway."

"Hey, I didn't even kiss you on the lips," Blake argued. "It doesn't count."

Waldo turned his head to look at the younger Bradley over his shoulder. "You really think you could…wow me?" he asked with a smirk to rival Hunter's.

Blake let out a low growl before pulling the earth ninja to him and attacking his lips with his own.

Waldo whimpered as Hunter ran a tongue along his jaw line while the younger Bradley kissed him vigorously.

When Blake pulled back, he started to ask, "How was th—" but his brother trapped his lips with his own.

"You're right, Hunter," Waldo commented between the two kissing brothers, "a Bradley Sandwich _is_ filled with awesomeness."

"Where's the sandwiches?" Geo yelled, suddenly bounding into the room with Marah and Kapri.

"Popcorn's ready!" the girls announced, setting down two bowls.

"Popcorn goes great with sandwiches," Hunter teased, grinning at his brother.

"This never happened," Blake said, picking up a handful of popcorn and throwing it at his brother.

Waldo soon found himself in the middle of a popcorn fight.

Destiny barked as Geo joined the fun and Marah and Kapri debated over whether to stop the fight or join in. Eventually, they decided to join.

* * *

"And the second moon," Skyla explained, lying on her back on the couch in Shane's living room while the air ninja sat on the floor beside her.

"The red one," Shane added.

"Right," Skyla replied, grinning. "It would pass through the planet's rings every night, sending a shower of pink and gold dust scattering across the sky. It was beautiful."

"Yeah," Shane agreed, staring at her.

"Now, do you want to practice jokes again?" she asked, sitting up.

"Nah, I like this," Shane said, taking a seat beside her on the couch.

"You could tell me more about this planet," she urged.

"Not much more to know," he shrugged. "You've seen most of it. Maybe with Lothor on vacation, Sensei will let us go camping. The stars are really clear away from the city."

"As clear as in space?" she asked.

"Well…" he chuckled.

"You should get that," she suddenly said, gesturing to the phone.

Just then the phone rang.

He grinned, reaching over and picking up the house line. "Yeah?" he asked casually.

He heard a scoff from the other end of the line. "Typical," a voice muttered.

"Who's this?" Shane asked.

"You should answer, stating clearly, 'Clarke residence,' Shane," the voice continued.

"Porter?" Shane replied. "Dad and mom aren't home."

"Which is why you felt as though you could slack off," his brother accused.

"If I take a break, it's because I deserve one," Shane argued, feeling defensive.

"You mean, from your hard life of skateboarding?" Porter asked. "When are you going to grow up and—"

"Did you call for a reason?" Shane snapped.

"Yes, I did," Porter replied. "Tell our parents my flight's just now boarding, so I should be there in a couple hours."

"Great," Shane groaned just as Skyla took him by the arm, turning him until the two made eye contact. She seemed to be telling him something without speaking. "Listen, Porter, I'm…sorry," he finally said. "I look forward to seeing you again. I…I love you." She smiled approvingly at him.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line before his brother finally spoke up. "I love you too. I only want you to live up to your full potential. And, thank you for saving me the last time I was in town. Up close, the Power Rangers didn't quite live up to their reputations."

"Um, sure," Shane mumbled, remembering the day that the other dimension's Shane was morphed and both Shanes had went to save their brother.

"See you soon, Shane," his brother said before hanging up.

Skyla patted Shane's arm and he smiled, pulling her into a kiss.

She threw her arms around his neck before pulling away suddenly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, holding her face in one hand. He could see the worry in her eyes.

She shook her head. "Just a feeling," she replied.

He suddenly became serious. "Your feelings are never wrong."

"Just that…" she concentrated. "Something's going to happen…someone's coming," she realized just as the front door opened and Shane's parents arrived home.

He laughed to himself. "And here I was worried it was Lothor." But, as he met his dad's glare, he saw a look that put Lothor himself to shame.

* * *

Vexacus and Choobo were lying on the floor of Vexacus' ship, groaning in pain. It had been a rough trip, but Lothor didn't seem to care. "Are we finally on Earth?" Choobo choked out.

"Yes," Lothor said, opening a compartment near the controls and pulling out the fragments of the Gem of Souls while studying the computer readouts. "And, thanks to me, we weren't detected at all."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Vexacus grumbled, pulling himself off Choobo. "Let's go."

"No," Lothor stated firmly, putting out a hand. "You two will stay in the ship. Knowing my nephew, he's probably scanning for alien DNA. The ship will keep your life signs shielded, but I happen to be human. In fact, _my_ DNA will actually help me complete the Gem of Souls." He opened the door and began to exit, but then stuck his head back inside. "I'll let you know when it's time to use the holograms."

"Holograms?" Choobo asked as the door closed behind Lothor. "Are those graham crackers with holes in them?"

Vexacus just grumbled to himself. "Soon," he whispered. "Very soon your time will come."

Sensei was meditating in front of his bonsai when a beep sounded from the main computer of Ninja Ops. "It's Cam," Circuit announced as the guinea pig hopped over, pressing a button.

"I'm just checking in," Cam said, his face appearing onscreen.

"A sensible course of action," Sensei agreed, "however there is nothing to report."

Cam let out a sigh of relief.

"So, how is your dinner going?" the guinea pig asked.

"It's just now starting," Cam replied. "Dustin is nervous about talking with his father, but I suspect he'll understand and respect what his son has to say."

"It is the duty of a father to at least make an effort to understand his son," Sensei nodded. "I hope I have offered you the same courtesy."

Cam couldn't help but grin. "You have," he agreed before looking over his shoulder. "They're sitting down now, so I better go."

"I will let you return to your friends," Sensei stated. "Circuit and I will continue to monitor the field."

"Thanks, dad," Cam said before his image vanished from the screen and Sensei hopped back over to his bonsai to continue his meditation.

But, as the guinea pig closed his eyes and began to let his consciousness wander, he felt his brother Lothor's presence. It had never felt so strong, not even in his deepest meditative states.

Boom! A sudden explosion causes Sensei's tiny eyes to shoot open. He saw Circuit's metallic body spark and explode as it crashed into the main computer. It had been struck by something powerful. Just then, a purple blast caused the computer to explode.

Without even having to think, Sensei knew what was happening and hopped into action, diving his tiny but powerful body toward the intruder.

Lothor stood just inside Ninja Ops, chuckling. "It seems being your twin brother has finally paid off," he said, dodging right to avoid the guinea pig. He made a tisk sound, adding, "Using a DNA scanner was not the best security precaution on my nephew's part. Now, I have waited a long time for this moment, to finally fulfill my revenge. All those years in space, amassing an army…Today's the day you die, _brother_."

"I had suspected you were planning something," Sensei explained while diving to attack his brother.

"It's not like I'd just give up," Lothor chuckled before being knocked backward by the guinea pig.

"Tobi had thought you might actually change," Sensei said while dodging a blast of purple energy that crashed into the wall with a huge explosion.

"The gold ranger," Lothor growled at the words. "But that's not why I'm here. Hand over the fragments of the Gem of Souls you possess."

"I do not know of what you speak," Sensei lied, faltering mid jump. The Move left him open to be hit on the arm by a blast. He spun backward, hitting a wall.

"You were always such a bad liar, Kanoi," Lothor quipped, following the guinea pig's eyes to the bonsai.

The space ninja shot out a blast of purple energy and the bonsai burst into flames. Then, walking over to the charred remains, he dug in the dirt, pulling out a bag and opening it. Inside were the remaining pieces of the Gem of Souls. They had been hidden in plain sight under Sensei's bonsai.

"And now it's complete," Lothor mused just as something hit the back of his head, causing him to fall over, the pieces falling from his grasp.

"You will not win," Sensei called, diving toward the pieces.

But, as the guinea pig did so, he was left open to a blast from Lothor.

The beam hit the tiny creature full force and his body spun mid-air before finally falling to the ground to be buried in the rubble.

Meanwhile, Lothor picked up the pieces and dusted himself off. "It seems I've already won," he commented, studying his PAM, pleased to see that the field around the planet was now down. In fact, all of Ninja Ops was down. Then, raising his communicator to his mouth, he simply said, "It's time."

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Notes:** Dum dum dum! Oh! The drama continues! What will happen next? I'll give you a clue: action ahead! Oh, and more drama. Review and tell me what you think and also what you want to see! Also, was the Bradley Sandwich scene too much? I just can't help myself sometimes…_


	44. Lothor's Victory

_**Author's Note: **This was actually originally intended to be part of the last chapter, but it just felt like I should end the last chapter where I did. So that's the reason this chapter isn't taking months to come! ;p So, now for the continuation! And, hopefully the title doesn't give too much away…_

_Oh, and be sure to check out the latest poster for this chapter on my DeviantART page!  
_

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_**Review Comments: **_

_Thanks **griffin blackwood **for offering to share your story with me and letting me know what you're working on! Maybe you can post something for your other readers sometime…Just a suggestion. But, yeah, I probably could have written a whole chapter about sandwich making, but that's what Dustin in Heat is for. ;p And it's nice to have a smart Dustin to trick the Bradleys into some nice Bradleycest. Still, not the real point of the story. Just…so tempting. Gotta stay on track though._

_Thanks **witch20 **for your love of my story! I will definitely try keep up with the story. As you can tell, this update is a lot sooner. I'm sorry that it took you a while to figure out what was going on and who was with who. It's my fault for taking so long! But, rather than make excuses, I should just write more chapters, right? ;p And thank you for welcoming me back! It's good to be back!_

_Thanks **LadySociopath009 **for saying I'm the best! And right now I seem to be spending more time struggling with how long it takes to type things up than with pacing myself, so how things change… But you did say, if inspiration strikes, go like crazy! So that's what I'm doing! I'm actually aiming for 50 chapters because…well, it's a nice round number. So, I guess that means I have some surprises ahead! And, yes, the title "Lothor's Revenge" might be a little misleading, but that chapter and this one were originally written to be one chapter in my notes, but I decided to separate them. After all, you don't want to wait forever… Oh, and to answer your question, the Bradley Sandwich is using real things to mean something else, like the conversation Tori and Blake had at the ice cream parlor about her liking strawberry when she loves blueberry. So, it's a sandwich, but it represents a three-way. And, yes, I need the villains, but not just because it's Power Rangers, but also because there needs to be some danger and action beyond just what Dustin's father would think. I want a good story and I try to come up with surprises._

_Thanks **Aqua786 **for your enthusiastic reviews! And…wait, Ninja Storm is on tv? What channel? Two of the episodes I recorded became corrupted. I want to see it again! Er…maybe I should just check the guide. Ugh, but it never has anything more than the next few hours worth of programming. Anyway, moving right along. I like how now you picture my story and my characters when you watch the episode. Yeah, that little cockblock. ;p But I had to control myself before I went overboard because I'm trying…yes trying, to be at least a little serious here as we lead into…well, this chapter. We'll also see how Dustin's dad reacts. Oh, and I actually had Waldo not come just for the Bradley Sandwich scene. I know, but I couldn't help it. And no! You don't get spoilers! You just have to read and find out! As for your old toys, the best place to look seems to be Ebay. I've found TONS of stuff on Ebay. What, you don't just love the number 3? ;p No, I know they're hearts._

_Thanks **YellowPrincess** for not being mad at me! Hey, four months is better than 8, right? And hopefully this makes up for it! That's right, it's only been…what? A couple weeks? It's a miracle! ;p Yes, that crafty Waldo is definitely lucky! I'm glad you don't think I went overboard. I was afraid it might be too silly, especially since I want this chapter to be more serious. Speaking of serious, you'll get to find out how Dustin's dad will react in this chapter, though I intentionally left some things unresolved so that I have more for future chapters (you'll understand later, but I can't spoil it now). Yes, those Lia and Ali are like two peas in a pod. We'll see more of Ali later on. We'll also see the other dimension's Shane (and the rest of the other dimension's rangers) at some point in the future (again, no spoilers). Thank you! Thank you! I'm so glad you think my story is awesome and you love the chapter and all the characters! You keep encouraging me, so hopefully this makes your day! *crosses fingers*_

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_**Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:**_

_**Lothor, Vexacus and Choobo fly down to earth in Vexacus' ship, using the pieces of the Gem of Souls that Vexacus found in the ocean to allow them to pass through the field around the earth undetected. Meanwhile, the rangers receive a message from the other dimension saying that now both dimensions are safe. So, the group takes some time off and Marah, Kapri and Geo join Blake, Hunter and Waldo as they watch the motocross nationals. Waldo tricks the two Thunder brothers into a Bradley Sandwich. Elsewhere, Cam and Lia join Tori and her family as Dustin and Tobi prepare to talk to Dustin's dad about their relationship. Then, after Skyla convinces Shane to tell his brother Porter that he loves him, she sense something, but they assume it's just Shane's parents coming. Meanwhile, unknown to the rangers, Lothor infiltrates Ninja Ops and destroys Circuit and the computers before defeating Sensei and then retrieving the other pieces of the Gem of Souls, thus completing it…**_

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**Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 44 (Lothor's Victory)**

* * *

"It's time," Lothor's voice echoed through the speakers of Vexacus' ship.

"Time for what?" Choobo asked.

There was no reply from Lothor and Vexacus chose to ignore the alien as well, instead pressing a few buttons on his control panel. "The field is down," he noted, studying the readout. "I assume you completed the Gem of Souls?"

"You assume correct," Lothor's voice replied. "Remember what I said. The gold ranger is mine."

"Of course," Vexacus grumbled.

"Now, while you two deal with the Power Rangers, I have a certain Megazord waiting for its power supply," Lothor finished.

"Understood," Vexacus added, turning back to Choobo.

"Is it time to capture the rangers?" Choobo asked.

"It's time for many things," Vexacus said cryptically, "but, yes, that's one of them."

And, with that, Vexacus pressed a button on his ship and suddenly a horde of kelzaks transported down to earth. Then, pressing another button, a holographic field flickered around each kelzak and they transformed.

"Wow," Choobo said as the two aliens exited the ship.

"Wow indeed," Vexacus agreed. "And Lothor's bringing more," he added, unable to hide his excitement. For once, things were actually going according to plan. Victory was finally within his grasp.

* * *

Over the course of dinner, Dustin and Tobi had gradually become more relaxed. They were also enjoying trying unusual taste combinations by one eating one thing and the other eating something else and seeing what the connection between them made the taste into. It wasn't like just mixing foods, but really made something unique.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Hanson for a delicious meal," Cam said after finishing dinner.

"You're welcome, Cam," Mrs. Hanson said, smiling. "And thank you for being so polite."

"That's Cam, the polite one," Lia said, grinning at the green ranger fondly.

He returned her grin before asking, "I was curious how you took…" He gestured between the triplets. "…everything so well?"

The parents looked at each other before answering. "It's not that it isn't…unusual," Mrs. Hanson answered.

"We do appreciate that Lia chose not to grow her hair out," Mr. Hanson added, gesturing to Lia's still short hair.

"Not that I wasn't tempted to drive you guys crazy with the whole swapping places thing," Lia added with a devious smile.

"She would have done it too," Tori agreed.

"But their…origins…" Cam added.

"You mean, being from another planet?" Mr. Hanson asked.

"Dimension," both Tobi and Dustin corrected in unison.

Mrs. Hanson looked from her son to her husband.

"My wife has her reasons," Mr. Hanson explained.

"It's okay," Mrs. Hanson assured her husband before turning back to Cam. "When I was pregnant with Tori, she was supposed to have…a twin brother. It stands to reason somewhere out there in another dimension he…survived." She looked lovingly at Tobi.

Dustin squeezed Tobi's hand as the blond smiled at his mother.

"Mom?" Tori gasped. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That's what I wanna know," Ali agreed.

"Please understand, girls, that this was hard on your mother," Mr. Hanson defended. "We had to…make a choice who to save."

Tori and Ali looked at each other while Lia chose to speak up. "It's tough making that kind of a choice," she agreed. "I…had to make that choice and our mom…"

Cam looked uncomfortable, like he regretted bringing it up, so Lia leaned over and lightly kissed him on the cheek, making him blush. "It's okay," she whispered reassuringly.

"But now we're one big…" Tobi began, looking at Dustin.

"Happy family," Dustin finished, grinning at his boyfriend.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Speaking of happy families," Lia commented.

"I'll get it," Ali volunteered, getting up.

"And we'll get desert," Tori offered.

"And miss this?" Lia asked.

"Yes," Tori whispered, grabbing her twin's arm.

"I'll help too," Cam said, getting up and looking at his girlfriend.

With that, Lia knew she had no choice and the three headed to the kitchen just as Ali returned to the dining room with Mr. and Mrs. Brooks and Maya.

"Sorry we're late," Mr. Brooks said.

"That's alright," Mr. Hanson said, standing. "It's been a long time, Jake," he added, shaking Mr. Brooks' hand. "How've you been?"

"Good," Mr. Brooks said, smiling. "Racing keeps me pretty busy."

"You're just in time for desert," Mrs. Hanson told the newcomers.

"Oh, does it have chocolate?" Mrs. Brooks asked hopefully.

"Of course," Mrs. Hanson said, smiling.

"So…Ali," Maya began, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "Did you need any help with your homework?"

"Of course," Ali said, groaning. "Don't I always?"

Maya grinned. "I'll help you. I'm good at every subject. Well, almost every subject. I mean, I don't know everything…Yet, at least." She blushed, still grinning.

Cam had been walking past the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. "You didn't mention Dustin's sister has a crush on your younger sister," he commented quietly to Tori.

"They're just friends," Tori said dismissively as she put the chocolate cake from the tray onto a plate.

Lia followed Cam's gaze. "My boyfriend, the _genius_, is right. She's got it bad. You can see it in her eyes."

Tori stopped what she was doing to go over and look out the doorway at the younger girls. After a moment, she asked, "How did I not notice before?"

"Because your boyfriend's Blake," Lia replied. "I'm not saying he's dumb, but he thought I was you and—"

Cam gave her a stern look, shutting her up.

"Mom, Ali and I are going to go do homework now," Maya announced.

"And miss desert?" Ali asked incredulously.

"Sure, why not?" Maya replied. "It probably has dairy anyway. Cow milk is meant for baby cows, you know?"

"Um, I didn't think of that," Ali mumbled.

As the two girls left, Mr. Brooks looked down, noticing for the first time Dustin's hand holding Tobi's as they sat at the table. The two immediately separated their hands as doubt washed over them. They felt caught, almost like they'd done something wrong. Tobi felt guilty for what Mr. Brooks might think of his son and Dustin felt guilty over having doubt to begin with.

Mrs. Brooks followed her husband's eyes to the two before smiling. "Oh, Jake, that's right, you haven't met Tobi Hanson, Dustin's boyfriend from the Twilight Zone." She clapped her hands together happily.

"…boyfriend?" Mr. Hanson repeated, blinking at the two. His features were hard, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

"And I'm the evil triplet!" Lia said, suddenly jumping into the room. "Boo!"

Tori and Cam entered, quickly pulling her out.

"Hey, I was just trying to cut the tension," she insisted as they drug her back into the kitchen.

The others looked from the doorway back to each other before Mrs. Hanson spoke up. "Honey, why don't you help me with desert?" she told her husband, whispering, "It'll give them a chance to talk."

"What kind of desert is it?" Mrs. Brooks asked curiously, beginning to follow the Hansons.

"I, uh, also need to check on desert," Tobi said, standing.

_Don't leave me, TZT_, Dustin's thoughts begged.

Tobi immediately turned back to his boyfriend. _I'll never leave you_, he insisted. _I love you. I'm right here in your head. He's gonna be a little uncomfortable, so I think this'll be easier for you both_.

_I love you too, TZT_, Dustin thought back as his boyfriend left the room and he found himself alone with his father.

"So…" Mr. Hanson began hesitantly.

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled, looking down.

Mr. Hanson hesitated before taking a seat beside his son. "Your mom says some crazy stuff," he began. "That's why I married her, but that's also why I divorced her. Was she… That boy…"

"Tobi," Dustin prompted, looking up to meet his father's gaze. "But I call him Twilight Zone Tobi, or TZT."

"The Twilight Zone…" Mr. Brooks mumbled, confused. "So…he's your…" He trailed off.

"Boyfriend," Dustin finished for him.

Mr. Brooks swallowed, looking around the table before seeing a glass of water and taking a sip from it.

"Are you…disappointed in me?" Dustin blurted out.

Mr. Brooks choked on the water, coughing. He wiped water from his chin, staring at his son. "I…"

"You can tell the truth," Dustin prompted. "I wanna know how you really feel." He bit his bottom lip nervously. _TZT, I need you_, he thought.

_I'm right here_, Tobi's thoughts replied. _You're doing great. Remember, no matter what he says, we can work through it together_.

Dustin relaxed a little at this and he looked into his father's eyes, searching for answers.

"I'm…" Mr. Brooks began. "I'm…surprised. I always thought you liked girls."

"I do like girls," Dustin replied. "I just _also_ like guys."

Mr. Brooks sighed. "Look, Dustin, you're young. It's natural to go phases where you think a…girly looking boy is cute."

"It's not a phase, dad," Dustin interrupted, immediately regretting the whine sound his voice made.

"I'm just saying, I know you," Mr. Brooks continued. "You love dirt and motocross." He patted his son's arm. "You're a guy's guy, not…a sissy."

Dustin frowned, feeling Tobi's thoughts as he remembered from his own dad's reaction when he found out his son was gay.

"You just haven't met the right girl yet," Mr. Brooks continued. "You know, I didn't meet your mom until—"

"I love him, dad," Dustin suddenly interrupted. He felt the sting in his yes that said he had tears forming in them.

Mr. Brooks froze, studying his son.

"Dad…" he continued slowly. "He's like…my whole world, like my sun. I've never met anyone like him. He makes me like being me, all of me, for the first time in my life. He's the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep. He's a part of me and…" He could feel the tears flowing now, though he was smiling. "And the best part…the absolute most awesomest thing in all the universe…is that he loves me back. TZT loves me, dad, and I love him."

The two sat there silent for a moment, just watching each other.

Dustin was nervous, but there was a warmth that passed over him, a feeling of love that enveloped his every fiber of being. It was Tobi and the emotions he felt after hearing Dustin's words and feeling the emotions behind them. They both knew every word was true.

Eventually Mr. Brooks took a breath. "Son, I…" He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit Dustin had inherited. "Okay, the truth is I was surprised and I started to wonder if I hadn't been around enough. A boy needs a strong male role model. And, maybe I was a little disappointed."

Dustin cringed, pulling back.

"But," he continued, "I was wrong to try to fit you into this box. I just thought…I guess I wanted to think you're like me, like I was, that we had things in common."

"We still have stuff in common," Dustin insisted. "We're just not _exactly_ the same."

Mr. Brooks thought for a moment before smiling fondly. "I guess you're right. I just…" He patted his son's shoulder again. "I want you to be happy and if…If this _guy _does that for you, then…I'm happy for you son."

"Thanks, dad," Dustin whispered, his eyes still wet.

"Here," Mr. Brooks said, leaning forward and hugging his son.

And, in that moment, Dustin felt the love not only from his boyfriend, but from his dad flowing through him.

* * *

"Porter called," Shane told his parents as they entered the house. "He said his flight was boarding and he'd be here in a couple hours."

"Thank you for the message, Shane," Mr. Clarke said sternly, "but you know how we feel about you having your girlfriend over when we're not here."

"What do you think we're going to do together?" Shane asked.

"You made it clear that you two are not interested in _marriage_," Mr. Clarke continued.

"I didn't know what marriage was, but now I do," Skyla volunteered.

"We just have certain rules that we expect you to follow," Mrs. Clarke explained.

"She doesn't really even have a home," Shane began to protest.

"She's…homeless?" Mrs. Clarke said, stepping backward as if appalled. "And you bring her here? There are shelters for—"

"She's not a puppy, she's my—" Shane began to interrupt, speaking far louder than he had intended, but then he felt a hand gripping his arm tightly. He looked over to his girlfriend, expecting to see Skyla's comforting eyes telling him to calm down, to try to understand his parents, but instead he found something completely different and the sight stopped his blood cold.

Skyla's eyes were wide and filled with panic. There was no mistaking the look. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" Shane asked, grabbing Skyla by the arms, trying to force her eyes to focus on him instead of that terror she saw, but she wouldn't focus on him.

"Shane, we're having a discussion here," Mr. Clarke began. "I think it's time your girlfriend left.

"Quiet," he snapped at his father.

"Shane," Mrs. Clarke gasped.

Then Skyla said the one word Shane needed to hear, the one word that changed everything.

"Lothor," she whispered.

With that, Shane was up from the couch in a flash, his mind immediately in leader mode. "I have to go," he said firmly to his parents as he led Skyla toward the door.

"We're not—" Mr. Clarke began to argue.

"Yes, we are," Shane cut him off and the two were out the door, ignoring the protests he heard from behind him.

* * *

"What's happening now?" Lia asked her brother.

"They just finished hugging," Tobi said, tears still in his eyes. "Now Dustin's trying to explain the other dimension."

"Good luck with that," Lia scoffed.

"Lia, we really should be giving them privacy," Tori insisted.

"It's not my fault they're telepathically linked," she argued. "I'm just using it to my advantage."

"Tori's right," Cam scolded.

"Party pooper," Lia mumbled.

Just then Cam's Samurai Amulet beeped.

The others immediately became serious, gathering around Cam, shielding him from the view of either the Hanson's or Mrs. Brooks.

"Go for Cam," Cam answered, holding his necklace to his mouth.

"Cam, Skyla's sensing Lothor," Shane's voice said quickly. "It must be something big because she's totally out of it. I need you to scan the area and—"

"I'm not actually in Ops right now," Cam interrupted, glancing at the others.

"Oh," Shane said, surprised. "I'll call Waldo then."

And, before Cam could even reply, Shane had already closed the line.

Cam didn't even need to tell Tobi what to do. He was already sending his thoughts to Dustin as the group left the kitchen. _Dustin, it's Lothor. Just make an excuse. We're leaving_.

"Hey, you're so smart," Lia interrupted, turning to Cam. "Why can't you make it so we can do that?"

"I doubt he'd want to," Tori told her.

She just shrugged. "Telepathy would be cool."

Dustin watched the others enter the dining room and then looked back at his dad quickly. "Um, you know how I said Tobi like saved the whole Twilight Zone?"

Mr. Brooks nodded, confused.

Dustin stood, showing a resolve his father hadn't seen in him all evening. "It's time for us to save _this_ dimension."

And, with that, they were gone.

* * *

"Now we're out of popcorn!" Geo complained after both bowls had been emptied in the popcorn fight.

"We're not really _out_," Hunter replied, gesturing around at the stray pieces everywhere.

The boy shrugged, gobbling down the pieces. "Destiny, help me find all the popcorn!" he ordered the dog.

"As Dustin would say, 'A little dirt never hurt anybody,'" Waldo commented and Hunter rubbed his head affectionately.

Blake glared at his brother before rubbing the back of Waldo's neck. Hunter leaned over, whispering, "So, how's it feel to be the filling in a Bradley Sandwich?"

"Awesome," Waldo whispered back, placing a hand lightly on each Bradley's knee.

"Which flavor you like better?" Blake interrupted.

Waldo just chuckled before purring like a cat. Destiny looked at the earth ninja oddly.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled programing for this important news bulletin," the television suddenly announced.

"Great," Blake groaned, laying back. "Just when we were getting somewhere." He glanced around. "I mean, just when we were getting down to the best riders."

But then everyone was frozen in place by what came next.

On the screen, a magnified image of an airplane appeared and a voice explained, "A 747 bound for Blue Bay Harbor airport is going down and is expected to crash in the city itself. Air traffic controllers have been unable to raise the pilot and the mayor has ordered the immediate evacuation of southern Blue Bay Harbor as a precaution. Fire crews are preparing to—"

Hunter felt Waldo's hand squeezing his upper leg. Under different circumstances, it would have been erotic. Like Blake and Tori, Hunter and Waldo had been taking their relationship slow. There were many times when the two were kissing and their hard bodies were pressed so firmly together that they wanted to go all the way, but Waldo had such a dominant personality and Hunter was _not_ going to be the submissive one under any circumstances. Now, if the genius could convince the younger bradley to join in, both Hunter and Waldo could exercise their dominant personalities…

Just then Waldo's morpher beeped. "This is Waldo," he said, still staring at the screen.

"Waldo, Lothor's planning something," Shane's voice said quickly."

"We know about the plane," Waldo explained.

"Plane?" Shane repeated.

"The 747 bound for the airport that's going down," Waldo continued.

"Porter…" Shane gasped before he was right back to business. "Prep the Zords," he ordered. "We can use the net. Also, scan for—"

"I'm not in Ninja Ops," Waldo interrupted.

"Why isn't anyone…?" Shane grumbled before stopping himself. "You and Cam get to Ops. Have the others with me near my house so we can deal with the plane. And have our Zords ready." The line then abruptly closed.

The group didn't need to be told twice. They were already out the door, motocross nationals and Bradley Sandwiches long forgotten.

"Cam's on his way to Ninja Ops," Waldo explained as they left. "I'll meet him there. Shane's between his house and Tori's."

Hunter and Blake nodded at him.

"Be careful," Waldo said, giving Hunter a quick kiss before streaking off.

"Jealous?" Hunter asked, looking at Blake.

"Nope," Blake answered. "I'm too worried about Tori."

"I hear that," Hunter agreed as they left.

* * *

Dustin, Tobi, Tori and Lia streaked to where Shane and Skyla were. A moment later, Hunter, Blake, Marah, Kapri and Geo joined them.

"What's happening?" Blake asked.

"A plane's going down," Shane explained quickly. "I think Porter's on it."

"Your brother?" Tori asked.

"I see it!" Dustin shouted, pointing.

"It's headed straight for the residential neighborhoods," Hunter realized.

Shane nodded at the others and they each raised their morphers.

But, as they each called upon their ninja powers, only Tobi morphed.

"Dude, what happened?" Dustin asked, staring at his morpher.

"Why did only I morph?" Tobi asked from inside his gold uniform.

"Shane to Cam," Shane called. "Waldo, anyone?"

"We just got into Ops, Shane," Cam's voice interrupted.

"The place is totally trashed," Waldo's voice added.

"The mainframe's fried," Cam continued. "You won't be able to morph."

"We figured that one out already," Shane quipped.

"Circuit's…" Cam began, trailing off.

"What about Circuit?" Tobi prompted.

"He's…been destroyed just like the rest of—" Cam explained before suddenly interrupting himself. "Dad?"

"Sensei?" Shane prompted. "What about him?"

"He's…human," Waldo's voice explained. "And…he's not moving."

"Tobi, I need you here immediately," Cam insisted. "He's not breathing."

Tobi glanced at Dustin.

"Go," Shane insisted. "I'll see if I can slow the plane's descent."

Then, as Tobi streaked off, leaving Dustin with a wave of dizziness, Shane focused his attention on the plane far overhead and sent out a gust of air.

"It doesn't look like it's slowing down," Hunter pointed out.

"Maybe it's too heavy," Tori suggested.

Shane raised his morpher. "Tobi, hurry up," he grunted. "We need you."

* * *

Tobi streaked into Ninja Ops and couldn't help but gasp at what he saw. The underground dojo was a complete wreck. Nothing was in its place and there were charred computer parts everywhere.

"Hurry, over here," Cam yelled, directing his attention to a corner of the debris-covered room.

Tobi demorphed and approached Cam and Waldo as they hunched over Sensei, but not Sensei the guinea pig. It was the human, the man who had chosen to train Shane, Tori and Dustin but not him. But, no, this was a different Sensei, he reminded himself as he bent over the broken and crushed body.

"I'll get the Gem of Souls," Cam said, looking around for his father's bonsai.

"I guess the spell that made him a guinea pig was broken the moment he…died," Waldo commented as Tobi touched Sensei's arm.

"I can't find the pieces," Cam said while hastily scanning the floor. "Do you think my dad will know to stay near his body?"

Tobi just nodded, too busy concentrating on healing Sensei to speak. It was hard enough just being away from Dustin.

"We need to move the piece of wall so Tobi can heal his leg," Waldo instructed and Cam helped him drag the chunk off.

Meanwhile Tobi continued to concentrate on finding a strand of life to ignight.

"Are we too late?" Waldo asked Tobi, seeing the strain on the blond's face.

"Help me find the pieces of the Gem of Souls," Cam insisted.

Waldo just nodded and helped Cam search while Tobi concentrated.

Beads of sweat trickled down Tobi's face. He had become so out of practice with this kind of thing and he immediately wished Sensei _had_ been stricter about their training over the past month. If Sensei survived this, he would ask the ninja master to train with him.

That was when he felt it. He felt Sensei's spirit reaching out to him. It seemed to be pointing to something and Tobi followed it until he realized what it was. It was a single strand of life.

Tobi put all his concentration into igniting that strand until it sparked and bloomed, becoming a raging fire that covered Sensei's body and healed it.

Moments later, Sensei gasped and coughed, opening his yes.

"Dad," Cam cried, running to his father's side. "I thought…" He choked on his words and decided to hug his father. For the first time…ever, really, he hugged him. It wasn't just that he couldn't when his father was a guinea pig, but even as a human, he had always been distant. This time, his father hugged him back with no reservations. "I couldn't find the Gem of Souls," he explained. "I thought you were—"

"Lothor has the fragments," Sensei explained, using his son's grip to help him up. "I believe he has found the remaining pieces you threw into the ocean as well and has completed it."

"Why does he want the Gem of Souls?" Waldo asked.

Sensei studied his human hands and human body. "He will undoubtedly use them to open the Abyss of Evil."

"There's one of those in this dimension too?" Tobi gasped, catching his breath.

"I am afraid so, Tobi," Sensei agreed. "Lothor must be stopped. And, thank you Tobi."

"You're welcome," Tobi said, catching his breath. "Right now I have to go help them stop the plane. See if you two can do anything about the place." He gestured around before streaking off.

"I fear this _plane_ may merely be a distraction," Sensei said somberly.

"You're probably right," Cam agreed while looking over the mess, "but we have to help the civilians before finding out what Lothor's endangering them for."

"Of course," Sensei nodded. "Now I will go rest." He then left the room.

"How'll we ever be able to track Lothor with this?" Cam complained, gesturing around.

"The Zords have independent scanners," Waldo explained.

"Of course," Cam realized. "We just need to trigger the holographic portals from inside the Zord Bay."

"Let's go," Waldo urged and the two made their way through the debris and out of the main room of Ninja Ops.

* * *

Tobi streaked to a stop right beside Dustin and placed both hands on his boyfriend as if his life depended on it.

"I thought the Sun Amulet on your morpher recharged you," Hunter commented.

"I just can't be away from Dustin for long," Tobi explained. "He's my real source of power." He smirked at his boyfriend.

"There's no time for this," Shane yelled. "It's right on us. I can't slow it down."

Tobi looked up, immediately noticing how close the plane was. He concentrated, sending out a wave of energy, but not too strong. He just wanted to slow the plane, not destroy it.

The plane hit the wall of energy and seemed to flicker in air before its descent slowed, but not enough. So, this time he increased the energy enough that the plane finally slowed. "I can't risk anything more," he told the others. "I don't want to destroy it."

Shane nodded as the plane spiraled downward, smashing into a nearby house, sending wood and glass splintering everywhere.

Before the plane had even skidded to a stop, Shane was barking orders. "Tori, Lia, put out fires."

"I can freeze things," Kapri volunteered.

"Great," Shane replied quickly. "You're with them. Tobi, you know what you have to do."

Tobi nodded. He knew he'd be doing a whole lot of healing. "I'll need Dustin with me."

Shane nodded. "Hunter, Blake, we're on civilian duty. We get them out of the plane and to safety."

"What about me?" Marah asked.

"Civilian duty too, I guess," Shane reluctantly agreed, "but keep Geo and Destiny out of trouble."

"Shane," Skyla finally spoke. She seemed to finally be coming out of her daze. "Don't go."

"Skyla, I'll be fine," he assured her, kissing her quickly on the lips before running toward the wreckage with the others.

"It's…" she called, but it was too late. They were already running to the plane. "…a trap."

* * *

The rangers coughed, trying to see through the smoke and dust surrounding the plane. The inside was a mess of wires and what must have been several dozen passengers. The plane was packed.

"This way," Hunter and Blake directed the wide-eyed civilians toward the exit.

Meanwhile Shane looked up and down the aisles for his brother.

Tobi had demorphed before he and Dustin walked around, checking each row. Surprisingly, none of the passengers seemed hurt. They even seemed too shocked and confused to speak.

As the passengers made their way to the front of the plane, Tori, Lia and Kapri entered.

"The fires are out already?" Blake asked, surprised.

"Our brother is an awesome pilot, even when he's not the one flying," Lia said with a smirk.

_Woof! Woof!_ Destiny kept barking.

"Shh, quiet Destiny," Geo encouraged.

_Woof! Woof!_ she continued.

"I thought I said to keep them out of trouble," Shane prompted, once again scanning the plane for his brother. Maybe this hadn't been his flight in the first place.

"I've got them," Marah promised, leading the boy and dog toward the exit, but there were too many passengers crowded around it.

"One at a time," Hunter insisted. "No pushing."

Just then, Skyla appeared at the exit, trying to get past the hordes of passengers. "Shane!" she shouted. "Get out of there! It's a—"

Slam! Suddenly the plane's exit door slammed closed and her last word was cut off.

"What happened?" Dustin asked, approaching the others with Tobi.

"I don't know, but I'm suddenly feeling claustrophobic," Tori commented, looking around.

All the passengers were watching them.

"I'll open the—" Marah began, approaching the door, but one of the passengers suddenly kicked her, sending her tumbling back and into the others.

"Hey!" Dustin yelled, helping Marah up just before another passenger kicked him.

"Ouch!" Tobi echoed, feeling the hit with his boyfriend.

"Why are you—" Shane began just as another passenger, an elderly woman with a cane, punched him. The force of the impact sent him into the opposite row.

"What the—" Blake began before also being attacked.

The group formed a circle with their backs to each other to better defend themselves.

"We're here to help you!" Tobi insisted.

Suddenly the passengers flickered for a moment before the holograms they were dissolved and the kelzaks underneath revealed themselves.

The group was trapped on a plane surrounded by kelzaks and only one of them could morph.

"Kelzak Furies," Blake noticed as he tried in vain to block one's attack. "We need to be able to morph."

"Tobi," Shane called, not needing to say more.

The blond immediately activated his morpher. "Power of Sunlight!" he yelled as his body was again enveloped by a gold suit. The gold ranger wasted no time in spinning, kicking and punching the kelzak furies back, but the closed space meant they weren't thrown far. "Stay close," he ordered before releasing a wave of energy out around them.

"Keep them busy," Shane commanded while the kelzaks recovered. "I'll try to blow open the door." Then, while Tobi forced back the quickly recovering horde of kelzaks, Shane tried to blow open the door, but once again his powers had no effect on the plane.

"Here, let me," Marah asked before Shane stepped aside and she shot a fireball at the door. To both their surprise, the door just looked slightly singed.

"Dude, what's going on?" Dustin asked worriedly just as a kelzak punched him.

At the same time, Tobi crumpled to the ground as if he himself had been struck and the kelzaks were all over him. He tried to block out the pain and sent another wave of energy out, throwing the kelzaks off.

"Tobi, we can't—" Kapri began.

"I know," he interrupted, turning his attention to the door. There was no need to hold back now, so he used all his strength and the door exploded off the side of the plane.

The group scrambled their way off the plan with Tobi pulling up the rear, fighting off the kelzaks inside the plane.

"We've got a problem," he heard Shane call from behind him and, as he exited the plane, he turned around to see that the passengers that had left the plane earlier were now a horde of kelzaks surrounding the plane.

"We walked right into a trap," Hunter growled.

Shane ran to Skyla's side as she dodged various kelzaks. "I'm always gonna stop whatever I'm doing to listen to everything you have to say from now on," he promised his girlfriend.

"We're outnumbered and we can't morph," Tori pointed out.

"We need help," Dustin suggested, dodging a kelzak as he noticed it behind him through Tobi's vision.

Shane nodded, raising his morpher. "Cam, Waldo, do you have our morphers fixed?"

"No, Shane," Cam's voice cam on. "We're actually trying to get the Zords ready. I thought you were dealing with the plane."

"Things…changed," he said, looking around as the kelzaks from inside the plane joined those surrounding the rangers. "Morphing just became our top priority."

"My amulet is an independent power source," Cam said, sighing. "I'll go."

Meanwhile, Dustin thought at his boyfriend, _You can take all of them at once. I've seen you do it._

_There's a lot more and I'm out of practice_, Tobi pointed out. _I don't want to somehow end up leveling the whole neighborhood_.

_I'll try to help you concentrate_, Dustin volunteered.

Just then, Cam streaked to their location, already morphed, and immediately began slashing away at kelzaks. "Do I even want to know?" he asked between slashes.

"It was a trap all along," Shane explained.

"The kelzaks were disguised somehow," Marah added.

"Holograms," Cam murmured, continuing his assault. "Lia, go back to Ops and help Waldo."

"Cam, I can help," she protested.

"You can't morph and Waldo needs someone who's at least half paid attention to our work," he continued.

"Way less than half," she admitted, blasting a kelzak with a torrent of water. "And none of us can morph but you and Tobi."

"Please, Lia," Cam begged between swipes. "Just do this for me, this once."

She sighed, "Fine, but you owe me."

"Agreed," he nodded as she streaked off.

The moment she was gone, Tobi called, "Everyone stay close!" Then, focusing, he sent a wave of energy out that sent kelzaks flying everywhere, as well as parked cars. Nearby homes were bombarded by the flying debris and some collapsed under the pressure, but surprisingly the plane barely budged.

"Awesome!" Dustin congratulated just as—

Suddenly he crumpled to the ground as something struck him.

"Dustin!" Tobi cried, also falling to the ground. He looked up just in time to see Vexacus and Choobo appear.

The next few seconds became a blur as the compartment on Choobo's back opened and began sucking up the rangers.

Dustin and Tori were the first to be taken, followed by Marah and Kapri.

"Marah!" Geo cried before he, still holding Destiny, was also snatched up.

Shane lasted a little longer, but even Skyla couldn't protect him. "Shane!" she cried out, but to no avail.

In the end, only the two morphed rangers and Skyla were left.

"Tobi," Cam gasped, seeing the gold ranger had demorphed and was lying on the ground. He slashed and dodged, noticing that Choobo made no effort to capture the blond.

"You humiliated me once," Vexacus growled, drawing his sword and approaching Cam. "It's time to return the favor." He swung his sword, clashing it against the samurai's.

"You should have stayed off the planet like I told you," Cam threatened as sparks flew from where their swords collided.

Vexacus just growled, kicking Cam back and swiping at him with his sword, sparks flying out along the surface of the samurai's uniform.

"Enough with this pathetic bickering," a voice called.

There, exiting the plane, was Lothor. Only, it wasn't a plane at all. The wreckage flickered and dissolved to reveal…

Lothor's Megazord.

The plane, like the kelzaks had been a hologram that traveled down through the atmosphere and was now towering above them. And, despite the plane's holographic damage, the Megazord was completely intact.

"Choobo," he called just as he sent out a blast of purple energy that sent Cam crumpling to the ground, "clean up."

And, with that, Cam was also sucked inside Choobo's compartment.

"Now for the famous _gold ranger_," Lothor announced, approaching Tobi.

"Tobi, you have to fight," Skyla urged, looking from the massive towering Megazord down to the blond.

Tobi grit his teeth. Over the past month, despite being careful when they "made rainbows," his connection to Dustin had grown stronger and stronger. "I can't feel him," he whispered.

"I know," she replied.

"Helpless are we?" Lothor asked, smirking from behind his mask.

"Skyla, you have to use your morpher," Tobi whispered, choking.

"But Shane made me promise," she argued. "He said, since Cam can't test it, I shouldn't—"

"What do you _sense_ will happen?" he interrupted.

Skyla thought for a moment while also easily dodging an arm that reached out from Choobo's back.

"Your death will be slow and painful," Lothor mused, now standing over the weakened gold ranger. "First, I'll make you watch as I release and then kill each and every one of your friends one by one, the way I watched as you defeated my generals." He looked at Skyla, grinning. "Why don't I start with her?"

"Now, Skyla!" Tobi called, mustering all his strength. Without Dustin, everything was so hard, but he managed enough force to push Lothor back a step.

She looked down at her wrist, at the pink morpher.

Lothor stumbled a bit before following her eye movements downward. He couldn't help but gasp at what he saw. "You fool, Vexacus," he shouted. "She has the pink morpher!"

Vexacus quickly approached just as Lothor raised his arm to send out an energy wave, but it was too late. Somehow knowing exactly what to do, Skyla spun the crystal on the morpher around and it snapped before glowing. Then her whole body began to glow until…

There, standing in front of them was a pink ranger.

Her suit was mostly pink with some white, silver and gold on it. The symbol on her chest looked like a crescent moon with stars on its opposite half.

Lothor fired a beam of purple energy at Skyla, but she easily dove aside to dodge it. She leaned down to check on Tobi and a spark passed between them. When she looked up again, Lothor was preparing to fire again. Without thinking, she sent a wave of energy out and threw Lothor and Vexacus backward.

"You…you borrowed my powers?" Tobi gasped.

"I don't know for how long," she explained quickly from behind her pink helmet. She sent out another wave, but it was weaker this time. "We have to get out of here."

"No!" Tobi cried. "We can't leave them."

"We can't help them right now," Skyla insisted, easily lifting Tobi's body now that she was morphed. "There's at least one thing I know how to do that I think I can do again," she commented, concentrating.

"You will not interfere," Lothor growled, sending out two double waves of purple energy just as Skyla and Tobi suddenly vanished. He growled as the blasts hit nothing but air and concrete. He steamed for a moment before seeming to calm. "It's too late anyway," he mused. "Choobo, go back to the ship and add the rangers and my nieces to the ninja students. I don't want to risk losing them."

"Okay," Choobo agreed, fumbling with a button on his wrist before vanishing.

"What next?" Vexacus asked, trying to hide the contempt in his voice. He was ready to ditch his helmet the moment Lothor reached for his PAM.

"I have the Gem of Souls and my Megazord," Lothor explained, "and now it's time to use them to open…the Abyss of Evil." He allowed himself a small smile at his victory. He had finally won and it was about time.

* * *

Skyla and Tobi suddenly appeared in Ninja Ops. "You teleported us," Tobi realized, looking around. "But we have to go back."

Skyla turned the crystal back on her morpher and she demorphed. She took his hand to help him to sit on the table.

"What happened?" Lia asked, running over to her brother.

"They were captured by Lothor," Skyla explained.

"All of them?" Lia asked hesitantly while studying her brother. "Even…Cam?"

Skyla nodded. "Even Shane…and Tobi's connection to Dustin left him helpless back there. The only reason he wasn't captured is because Lothor wanted revenge."

"We have to go rescue them," Lia insisted.

Just then, Waldo entered the room. "I used the Zords' scanners to track down Lothor and—" he began before stopping when he saw Tobi. "Tobs, what happened?"

"Lothor has Dustin and…everyone else," Lia explained quickly.

"Hunter?" Waldo asked.

Lia nodded while subconsciously stroking her brother's damp forehead.

"We have to stop him," Tobi said weakly.

"You and what army?" Lia asked. "You're a wreck. "I'll go while you rest and recover."

"He will only get weaker the longer he's away from Dustin," Skyla pointed out and Lia grit her teeth. "And you can't morph," she added.

"He's right though," Waldo interrupted. "I was tracking Lothor and he has a Megazord powered by the Gem of Souls."

"He's going to try to open the Abyss of Evil in this dimension," Tobi realized, trying to get up.

"Tobi, you're in no shape to save the world," Lia scolded.

"We can't let him open—" Tobi continued.

"It's too late," Skyla said, her eyes distant. "He's opening it now."

"No!" Tobi yelled. "We can't let Lothor win!"

"Tobi, little brother," Lia said, grabbing her brother's slumped and weak shoulders. She looked him square in the eyes. "Lothor's already won."

Tobi slumped back onto the table. He never thought he'd see the day come when Lothor would win because he was too weak and helpless to stop him. And, even though the whole world was doomed, he couldn't help but think one person mattered above all the others, one person who he needed, who he loved: Dustin Brooks.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Oh no! Lothor won? So, is that the end? I bet you already know the answer to that. What do you think of Tobi's connection to Dustin actually being a weakness? Could it be a strength? Hmm. And, for any of you who happen to be gay, you'll probably recognize some of the things Dustin's dad said. No, I'm not psychic. Most parents pretty much think alike. So, what did you think? What do you want to see next? Be honest! Review and tell me everything!_


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